Naruto: Knight of Highever
by KitBeast
Summary: Naruto finds himself in the land of Fereldin, and a great many adventures follow. Rated for safety, and possible future content.  Pairings undecided.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 1

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow (Greatly appreciated by the way)

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

_Everybody knows where they are and what they are doing on the days their world changed. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and the day my world changed was when Sasuke, the person I thought of as a brother decided to become a traitor and abandon our village. He had somehow come to believe that if he studied under another traitor called Orochimaru then he would gain enough strength to avenge his family and kill their murderer. The Hokage had sent me and four others to capture him but along the way we had become seperabted as we all began indivual battles with the people who were escorting our target back to Orochimaru. So here I was alone, at a place called the Valley Of the End, facing the closest person I have to a brother in a fight that could very much be the end for one of us._

A gentle breeze blew threw the valley, catching a stray leaf of the floor and carrying high into the air. As the leaf lazily glided threw the barren valley the eyes of two young boys were boring into it. One of the boys had a fairly short mop of uncontroled hair, that was the colour of the sun itself. This clashed with the bright orange track-suit that he wore, which had a noticeable hole in the left shoulder. His right had was holding a spinning ball of energy that sounded as if it was sucking the air itself into it. However the most noticable thing about him was the bubbling cloak of red energy that surrounded his body and gave him a vulpine appearance. He was Naruto Uzumaki.

Across from his was another boy of the same age, only this one had two large hand like wings, and had coal coloured skin. He wore a very simple dark blue tee-shirt and a pair of plain white shorts. And like the first boy his right hand was covered in energy as well, only this time it was in the shape of compressed lightning, which chirped with the sound of a thousand bird. He was Sasuke Uchiha.

"Chidori" "Rasengan"

The two deadly attacks collided causing a devastating shock wave that shook the very valley that surrounded it. The vast amounts of corrupted chakra and demonic chakra combined to create an effect that nobody would have guessed.

As the sphere of chakra imploded into itself it formed a corridor too an entirely unknown world.

* * *

Finally arriving after what seemed like hours, Kakashi quickly moved to survey the surrounding valley. The massive gouges that covered the rock face, and the two great statues that defined the valley were shattered. Both told of the viciousness of the battle that happened here, not minutes before.

And while it had only been minutes since the battle had ended, so therefore it would be easy for Kakashi to catch up to Sasuke, but doing so may be fatal when it comes to Naruto. Faced by the decision of whether to go after his wayward student or search for his possibly injured student, Kakashi made one of the hardest decisions of his entire life.

Quickly running over the river, Kakashi made his way up the opposite side of the valley, pumping more and more chakra into his legs, desperate to catch up and stop the Uchiha.

_"Hold on Naruto. I don't know if you're injured or not, but if I don't stop Sasuke then we will lose him to Orochimaru. Konoha will lose one of it's founding clans: such a thing might destroy the already weakened moral of the village. And you have both your stubborn determination and the Nine tailed fox to keep you alive, and if they can't save you then there is nothing I would be able to do."_

* * *

As he began to stir, the first thing that Naruto noticed was the vast fields of golden corn and lush valleys covered in grass that surrounded him. Concern flooded through him, since this was nothing like the place he last remembered being: The Valley of the End.

Struggling against the blinding pain that coarsed throughout his body, Naruto forced himself to his knees. Galvanized against the pain by this tiny victory Naruto continued to struggle to his feet.

The shoulder wound that had been closed just minutes before had reopened, due to the damaging effects the chakra of the Nine tailed Fox had done to his body.

Shuddering as the pain once again ripped through his body, Naruto was beginning to believe that he wouldn't survive until nightfall.

With the mass of blood that was pouring out of the wounds covering his body, Naruto found himself becoming increasingly faint. Deciding to leave his life in the hands of fate, Naruto slowly started to move in a random direction.

Unfortunately he didn't manage to get far before he finally succumbed to his wounds.

* * *

Heading down the well worn trail that made way to Castle Cousland, Teyrn Bryce Cousland was looking forward to being able to finally spend some time with his wife, and of course his son.

He was sharply removed from his thoughts when one of the scouts came galloping up to the group, screaming about something he couldn't quite make out.

"Calm down ser and tell me what's wrong" Bryce said calmly, hoping to sooth the scout a little

"My lord, there's a child" the scout answered after a moment to regain his breathe

"A child? Out in the wild?"

"Yes my lord, and he seems to be badly injured"

"Injured? Do you have any idea what caused them?"

"No my lord, but if we don't hurry I fear the boy may not survive much longer" the scout said urgently

"Of course, quickly ser take us to him" Bryce said while maneuvering his horse to follow the scout. Turning slightly on his saddle, Bryce told a younger lad who was wearing elegant looking robes, "When we get there I want you to check on the boy Harrison"

"But my lord, I am still an apprentice. I'm no where near finishing my training. I don't know what I could do to help the boy."  
"While you might not be able to heal him fully Harrison, the little training that you have received will let you do more for the boy then what we would be able to. All I ask is you help him be stable enough to travel. Once that happens we will be able to bring the boy to Highever."

"Yes my lord."

"Ser Gilmore, I want you to head to Highever straight away. Once there tell my wife to gather the Healers and the supplies needed to heal the boy."

"I will leave immediately, my lord."

Turning back to the track ahead of him and some travel, Bryce was soon assaulted by the view of a young boy, about 12 years of age, who was soaked in what appeared to be his own blood.

"By Andraste's grace, what happened to him?"

"I don't know, my lord. This is how I found him. There doesn't seem to be any sign of a struggle. Although it does appear as if the boy walked here from another location." The scout said while pointing towards the south-west. "With your permission my lord, I'd like to follow the trail, and try to find out what has happened here"

"Of course. But try to be careful. Any information you gain would become useless, if you were to be slain. And any information, no matter how little would help us prevent this from happening to anyone else in future."

While the dialogue between the scout and Bryce had taken place, Harrison had proceeded to begin to do what little he could to help the boy. Settling down into the role, Harrison quickly went about bandaging all the wounds he could spot. After several minutes he knew there was nothing more that could be done for the boy's physical wounds by someone of his small abilities, so he focused on the area of his expertise. Magic. He sent a small amount of magic into the boy, to feel for the taint left by demons from within the fade always left behind when they possess a person.

The results of his probe didn't answer his questions like Harrison had hoped, in fact it had increased them. Exponentially.

"This can't be right!" he muttered in disbelief.

"What is it Harrison" Bryce asked kneeling beside the young mage, concern clearly shown on his face

"The boy has magic."

"So he's a mage then? Perhaps one who has run away from the Circle?"

"There have been no mages who have left the Circle in the last 5 years that have not already been captured by the templars, My lord, so that's impossible. He has magic, but it's nothing like anything I've ever come across, or even heard of in all of my studies."

"What? Are you sure?" Bryce asked mirroring Harrison's disbelief

"I'm positive my lord." Harrison said. The conviction in his voice clear for all to hear.

"I'm sorry Harrison, but I don't understand. You claim the boy has magic, yet you say he isn't a mage? Everyone knows that only mages, whether they're from the Circle or an apostate, have access to magic."

"Believe me My lord, I am just as confused about this as you are. But perhaps I should try to explain myself?" Harrison asked glancing towards Bryce. Seeing him nod, he paused to take a deep breathe to calm his thoughts before starting his explanation. "You see my lord, everyone, from the smallest child to the most powerful mage has access to magic. The difference is only a mage has the sufficient amount of magic available to project outside their own bodies. This boy has roughly the same amount of magic available to him as Irving, the First Enchanter of the Circle Tower. However the boy's magic seems different, while at the same time it feels the same."

"How can something be the same and be different at the same time?" Bryce asked in clear confusion.

"Imagine that all magic is water. Normally in a mage, that water is calm and collected in one place, like a reservoir. But the boy's magic, it's wild and constantly flows around his body, as if it was a river. While both a river and a reservoir is made up of water, the way they behave is completely different to each other."

"I think I understand. Is the magic stable?" Seeing the confused look on Harrison's face Bryce quickly added "It won't lash out and cause harm to anyone?"

"I believe it would only behave as such, if the boy was threatened in some way my lord."

"Right. Otherwise is the boy safe to be moved to Highever?"

"Yes my lord."

Nodding, Bryce slowly pushed his arm under the boys legs and under his upper back, allowing him to pick him up without causing too much stress on the boy's wounds. Moving towards his horse, Bryce carefully avoided anything that could impede him on way to his horse. Shifting the boy into a more comfortable position, Bryce started to move the boy onto the front of his saddle; the perfect place for him. It would be somewhere Bryce could be certain the boy wouldn't fall and he could be protected if they were attacked. And while unlikely this close to the castle, one could never be too sure. And of course the main reason even if he wouldn't only acknowledge it within his own mind, was that if the boy was dangerous, it would be him, not his men, that was harmed by it. After all, it was the duty of a Teyrn to watch over all their subjects, and guarantee their safety, even at the expense of their own.

* * *

Looking out of the window, she was once again captured by the majestic view of Castle Cousland. Even after 40 years she could not believe that this is the place she called home. Slowly taking in the sights which she had become so accustomed to, and the sounds of the castle, which was bursting with life, now that the cold grasp of winter had been left behind; the children once again roamed free, with over protective parents hovering close by. Eleanor was quickly lost to her wandering thoughts.

When she was young she had always thought that she would never have a life anywhere near what she has now. And it all started when she met Bryce. The handsome, young noble who she had helped in a scrap. And as the saying goes, the rest was history. After a year of courting Bryce had asked her to marry him, and while she was overwhelmed with happiness, she was also shocked speechless. After all while she may have been noble born, it was to one of the lesser families, with estates that was barely worth mentioning. And yet Bryce Cousland, heir to the Teyrnship of Highever, had asked for her hand.

She had accepted of course, although as it turned out she didn't have as long as she had believed to grow into her new responsibilities. Just 3 and a half years of marriage her father-in-law had passed away, elevating Bryce to the title of Teyrn, and her as his wife, the title of Teyrna, something she believed she was no where near ready for.

But Bryce had always supported her and said that she would do brilliantly in anything that she put her mind to. And to prove her loving husband right, she had put her mind, body and soul into being the perfect Teyrna. And all the effort she put forward showed. The people loved her and her husband, and their lands had flourished.

Her wandering thoughts were soon grounded when the peaceful atmosphere of the castle was broken when a man galloped into the castle, barking orders to all those around him.

Leaving her perch on the window seat, Eleanor quickly made her way to the man to find out what the commotion is due to. After several minutes of hurried walking, after all it would not do for a Teyrna to run, she made it to the courtyard to see the man was actually the young Ser Gilmore. And upon seeing her he made his way towards her, and bowed his head to show his respect.

"What is wrong Ser Gilmore?" Eleanor asked with a surprising calmness

"My lady, the Teyrn has sent me ahead to ask you to gather the healers"

"The healers? Why would Bryce need the healers? He wasn't hurt was he?" She demanded becoming frantic in worry

"No my lady, the Teyrn is safe, and so are the men. However several mile from the castle a scout reported that he had found a injured child. And the Teyrn has gone to collect him and bring him here."

"A child?"

"Yes my lady"

"Any idea what caused this?"

"Not at the moment my lady."

"Right. Ser Gilmore I want you to remain here. I will be in the western guestroom, and when my husband arrives direct him there. I will have the healer waiting."

"Of course my lady."

Rushing up the stairs she had recently descended, she set about gathering the needed healers, as well as the supplies they were sure to need, nothing extravagant, just several clean cloths as well as a bucket of fresh water. If anything more that is needed, the more advanced medicine would need to be collected later by the servants. After all she is a fighter not a healer.

Speaking of which, some of the servants had acted on their initiative and already sent the healers to her, which was good; she had no idea how long it would be before Bryce arrived with the boy, and therefore had no time to search for the healers in the castle.

* * *

The speed of which the horses entered the castle clearly showed the urgency or their riders.

A speed that was quickly mirrored by Bryce as he dismounted and lifted the injured boy down with him. Carrying the boy with him he made his way toward the main hall of the castle. While he was walking he was joined by Ser Gilmore, who immediately informed him of the Teyrna's wish that the boy be brought to the western guestroom.

After several long minutes, the Teyrn made it to the designated room and the door was already open with his wife looking worriedly down the corridor, checking for any sign of them. Seeing him she rushed over and gasped when she saw the state of the boy. "Andraste's grace, what happened to him Bryce?"

"I don't now Eleanor. But he needs to be healed immediately. Harrison has done what little he could for the boy, but I fear that will not be enough."

"Of course, what was I thinking? Now is not the time for questions. Come Bryce." Eleanor said leading Bryce into the room

Stepping back Eleanor gave Bryce enough room to put the boy on the bed, still in disbelief that something as horrible as this could happen to a child.

Placing the child on the bed as softly as he could Bryce took a step back to join his wife, bracing himself for the rush of questions he was sure would be asked.

"When do you think the child will wake up Bryce?" she asked concern ringing in her voice

"I don't know Eleanor. Hopefully it will be soon. While I may have a scout searching for answers, I fear we won't have any until we can question the boy."

"Something must be done Bryce. No matter how long it takes for the boy to wake, we can't let whatever monster that did this threaten our people."

"Yes, you're right. I'll go organize patrol parties immediately." Bryce said heading towards the door

"Well then, I will remain here, and oversee the boy's care." Eleanor stated which made Bryce nod.

Stopping once he made it to the door Bryce gave a long sigh before saying "Even with the extra patrols I don't believe I will feel safe again until we know what happened and it is dealt with."  
"Me too Bryce, me too."

* * *

"Ser Gilmore!" Bryce barked while exiting the main hall of the castle

The unexpected voice had caused said Ser to spill the water he had been drinking. Seeing the seriousness on the face of his lord, Gilmore was quick to put flask away while making his way over.

"Yes my lord?"

"I want you to double the patrol's around Highever immediately. The patrol's will stay this way until either I or the Teyrna says otherwise. Is that clear Ser Gilmore?"

"Yes my lord"

Seeing the young knight rush to perform his new task, Bryce allowed himself to relax for the fist time in hours. Given that Highever was as powerful as it was, very few things could threaten it. But then again very few things would do such a thing to a child. Not even the most ruthless bandit or dangerous blood mage would do such a thing. Which left only two plausible explanations. Either some new beast had taken up residence near by, and would need to be hunted down to ensure the safety of the people, or Maker forbid, there was Darkspawn near by.

And if the Darkspawn were on the surface it could only mean one thing. A new Blight. And Ferelden was nowhere near ready to face a Blight.

* * *

**A.N... This is a story that I have wanted to write for a long, long time. Since I first got the Dragon Age game actually. Only when I found out that Dragon Age II was coming out did I realize how long I had been thinking about it. So here it is, my first attempt at a multi-chapter story since 'Rumours of a Shadow Fox'.**

**Now i'm not one of those Author's who say there not going to update unless they get a certain number of reviews. I'll update when i'm happy the chapter is ready to be uploaded. Which of course means I will be getting it Beta'd. However reviews will allow me to understand some of the problems, improvements etc that you all have so if you want to fell free to leave a review.**

**Thanks for your time KitBeast.**


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 2

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow (Once again Greatly appreciated)

* * *

**Disclaimer:- ****In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

Sunlight seemed to creep though the window and towards the occupant of the room, determined in it's mission to disturb the sleep of the boy. A mission which it easily achieved.

Waking to the shining sun in his eye's Naruto was understandably preoccupied trying to force himself to become more aware than his body wished to be. After all it would be much better to simply go back to sleep. Shifting so his legs were dangling over the side of the bed, he pushed himself up, and discovered something that woke him instantly.

"What the?" he exclaimed suddenly not understanding what was happening. He knew that something strange had happened when the chakra of his and Sasuke's attacks collided. And he could vaguely remember a seemingly endless field of grass. But he didn't remember anyone finding him.

It was easy for him to deduce that he wasn't in Konoha, because if he were, he'd be in the observation ward of Konoha General Hospital, but that had wooden floors. In fact, Naruto couldn't think of a building in all of Konoha that had stone floors. Which led to the next question for Naruto to answer. Where was he?

Looking around the room, careful to take in all of it's features, Naruto noticed that all that was left of his clothing was his orange trousers, which he immediately put on. The only times he liked being naked was when he was bathing. After searching for a couple of minutes he found that all his other clothes and equipment wasn't there. Which meant that Naruto was either very lucky that he was found by someone who helped him, or very unlucky and now he's been captured by some unknown enemy. But if that was true, wouldn't he be in a cell, not what appeared to be a guestroom? But then again they could be trying to lull him into a false sense of security, waiting to strike when he lowered his guard.

Groaning at the sudden headache, Naruto shook his head, trying to clear all the frantic thoughts out of his head. This is why he preferred simple things; otherwise he tended to over think things, which always made it 10 times worse then it really was. So that meant he was left with basically 2 choices. First, he could stay here over thinking things, and never find out what is going on, or secondly he could try to find someone and get some information.

Deciding that the second choice was the best one, Naruto carefully opened the door and peered into the hallway, searching everywhere for any possible attackers. It was never wise to let your guard down, when presented with an unknown situation. Something that had been cemented in his head, with all the surprises he faced on his recent missions.

With the coast clear, he made his way into the hallway, surprised by the shear size of it. While he had been in impressive buildings before, the Hokage's tower to name just one, none of them was anything like this. While most buildings that he had seen were plain and built just to do a job, this one seemed to be the exact opposite. Why would anyone need such a high ceiling, not to mention all the extravagant artwork that covered the walls.

Making his way down the hallways, which was just too long in his opinion, Naruto passed several large wooden doors, and as tempted as he was, he couldn't bring himself to open them. After all there was always the chance he would walk into the middle of the guard's room. And with nothing but a pair of pants and his own skill, he didn't feel like fighting any unnecessary battles.

However no matter how much he wanted to avoid battles, Naruto knew sooner or later he would have to risk it if he was to get any information as to where he was. He mentally decided that the next room he came to, would be the room he started his search.

Sooner than he would have liked he found himself at the next door, although this one was different, it had ornate golden carvings worked into the wood, so clearly whatever was behind this door, was important.

Taking a calming breathe Naruto placed his hand on the handle and slowly pushed the door open, he only hoped this didn't backfire like most of his recent plans did.

* * *

Today had been a tiring day. So Eleanor had retreated to her bedroom, hoping to relax slightly. She knew Bryce would have his hands full organizing the search for what ever had been responsible for this, so she had volunteered to supervise the boy's healing. Only she had no idea how stressful that choice would turn out to be.

While healing of the boy itself was rather straight forward and quick, the events that had followed afterwards had been draining.

Harrison had shared his knowledge on the boy, and when he had mentioned the boy's strange magic, the spiritual healers had been speechless. However it had manifested itself when some of the boys more serious injuries had began to heal by themselves. And even Eleanor could feel the taint of blood magic in the air. Something that could only happen when large amounts of blood magic were being used. While she was a fully trained battle maiden, she was not a templar, so anything to do with magic was outside of her area of expertise.

But when Harrison had mentioned that while he had sensed the boy had magic, none of it had been blood magic. This again raised more questions, since it was common knowledge that when a mage dabbled in blood magic all their magic would become tainted as it where. And they will always give off the aura of that taint. So how could the boy have two different magics?

It seemed the more time that passed the more questions that were raised. Questions that would only be able to be answered when the boy awoke.

She was soon broken from her thoughts however, when she heard measured footsteps outside her room. They where quiet, slow, and more importantly hesitant. No one in the castle would behave like that, well actually there was one person who might act like that, but that was impossible. The healers had said it would take days for him to wake.

Putting her book down on the bedside table she made her way over to her door.

* * *

Taking yet another breathe to calm his nerves Naruto pushed the door open, to reveal a empty room. Naruto didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed that he had come across what appeared to be a bedroom. There was a large, very comfortable looking bed against one wall. A couple of desks with papers scattered across the surfaces, but most importantly to Naruto, there was a bookcase. A very large bookcase. He was sure he could find some information here, even if it was just basic stuff.

Picking a random book he began to read, however he was frustrated when he didn't find anything of use. The only thing the book had mentioned was something called Darkspawn. He had no idea what Darkspawn were, and to be quite honest with himself, he didn't particularly care about finding out.

Moving back to the door, he gave one quick glance over the room, making sure everything was back how he found it. It wouldn't do if people noticed what he had been doing after all.

With the door shut he sighed, and turned to begin his search elsewhere. Fate, it seems, had other ideas, as he walked right into a middle aged woman who was stood with her arms folded, and assessing him with her eyes.

Naruto tried to move backwards to put distance between them, however he found his endeavours hampered by the door he had just closed.

"Who are you?" He demanded trying to sound as intimidating as he could.

"I believe I should be asking you that question, child. Since you did just come out of my son's room," she remarked. "But I suppose there is no harm in telling you my name. I'm the Teyrna of Highever, Eleanor Cousland. And before you ask you are in Castle Cousland."

"Highever?" Naruto asked confused. Seeing her nod, he continued, "I have never heard of a place called Highever"

"Well then child, since it seems this is going to take awhile before this is settled perhaps we should go somewhere more comfortable? Like the room you are suppose to be resting in?" However seeing his defiant look Eleanor quickly added "Don't worry child I will answer all of your questions. Well at least those which I know the answer to."

Seeing that this is the best he could possibly hope for, Naruto decided to play along for a while, at least until he got enough information to form some sort of plan, even if it was just a vague one.

After a couple of minutes of following Eleanor as she wove her way through the elaborate hallways Naruto soon found himself in front of the room where his little escapade began. Naruto noticed that Eleanor was holding the door open, clearly wanting Naruto to enter first. Multiple reasons for why she would do this flew through his head. But she deserved the benefit of the doubt, since she hadn't done anything suspicious yet. It was probably the adrenaline of the fight, and the series injuries he had just recovered from, that was making him just to conclusions; that should pass in a day or two as his nerves settled.

Sitting on the bed, Naruto looked pointedly at Eleanor, as if demanding she answer questions before he'd even asked them.

Chuckling at the boy's behaviour, Eleanor elegantly made her way to one of the seats in the room, since she expected that this would become a rather long conversation.

"I can not answer a question I have not been asked, child." she said snapping Naruto out of his stare

"Eh, sorry. I guess that I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment."

"Understandable. Especially with what you've been through. It must have been a terrible thing, what ever gave you the wounds you had when my husband found you."

"It was." Naruto said, looking down at his hands. "You look like a nice enough lady, but I don't really trust you yet. So please try to understand if I don't answer every question you ask."

"Perfectly reasonable child. I expect you to extend the same courtesy to me." she replied.

"But perhaps I should start since you seem to be unsure of what to ask." At Naruto's nod she continued, "Those wounds, what caused them?" Seeing Naruto's reluctance she decided to try a different approach. "I don't need to know the exact circumstances behind what happened. Just enough to make sure that it doesn't happen to anybody else. So maybe you'd answer something a little less detailed. Was it an animal that did it?"

"No."

"Bandits perhaps."

Heaving a heavy sigh, Naruto responded, "You don't have to worry about what happened to me. I seriously doubt he's anywhere near here. How could he harm anyone when he's not here?"

"What do you mean that he's nowhere near Highever. We found you not seven miles from the castle. And who is this he exactly?"

"Who he is, is not important. And it is something I would like to forget. As for why he would be nowhere near, Highever was it? Well that's quite simple. Have you ever heard of a place called The Land of Fire? In the Elemental Nations?"

"Never."

"Well, that is where I am from. And since the Elemental Nations are not know here, then there shouldn't be anyway for him to get here, so your people should be safe."

"There shouldn't have been anyway for you to get here child, but yet here you are." Seeing Naruto's frustration building Eleanor quickly decided to change the subject. "Alas child, I believe we have much more to discuss. First I should introduce myself. My name is Eleanor Cousland, and my husband, Bryce Cousland, is the Teyrn of Highever."

"What's a Teyrn?"

"A Teyrn is the lord of the land. The Nation, which is called Ferelden, is split into several provinces. These provinces are ruled by a Teyrn, however over years the Teyrns have been lessened in number and their land have been split back amongst the lesser noble families. Highever is one of the two remaining Teyrns that survives to this day."

"So if Ferelden is split into these provinces, who decides what is going to happen? I mean is there some sort of Council?"

"No child. The Teyrns and lesser lords all answer to the king. He's called King Cailan. A kind and generous King, if a little inexperienced. But that is to be expected from one so young, and someone who's ruled for such a short period of time. But I believe we are getting off subject, I have introduced myself, it would be only polite if you were to introduce yourself."

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, and as I have already said I'm from The Land of Fire. A village called Konoha actually."

"Well then, it is very nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki."

After this brief exchange, a uncomfortable silence descended upon the room, as both Naruto and Eleanor knew not what to say.

Desperate to break the silence, Naruto asked the first thing that came to mind, "So. While I was in your son's room, I read something about the Darkspawn. What exactly are they? I've never heard of them."

"You truly have never heard of the Darkspawn?" Eleanor asked, clearly surprised by this piece of information. "Your homeland was very fortunate indeed to be free from such a monstrosity as a Blight."

"Blight? What has that got to do with the Darkspawn?" Naruto asked, confused as how they could be related.

"The Darkspawn are a very dark and monstrous race. They destroy everything in their path and kill everyone. Men, women, even children are slaughtered. You see the Chant of Light says that the original Darkspawn were once men, who tried to conquer heaven but instead they only succeeded in tarnishing it. As a punishment for their acts, they were cast down to earth and their outward appearances were twisted to show the evil in their hearts."

"That doesn't really answer the question. What does the Darkspawn have to do with the Blight?"

"When the Darkspawn come to a new land, they do two things immediately. One, they build a den. This is where captured women are subject to one of the worst fates known. They become Broodmothers. The Broodmothers give birth to thousands of Darkspawn, which then begin searching for something called an Archdemon." Eleanor paused to settle her breathing as she had become clearly unsettled during the explanation "The Archdemon was originally an Old God that became corrupted when heaven was destroyed. Once the Darkspawn awaken an Archdemon the Blight begins. You see only the Archdemon can control the Darkspawn, and without that control they would be just mindless animals that would be content to remain underground killing each other, and the few unlucky people to come across them. But with the Archdemons, they become organized and venture to the surface, massacring all in their path. When this happens it is called a Blight. In all of history there has only ever been four Blights. And every time there is a new blight, thousands of innocent people die. So as you can see, we have a very good reason for why we were so concerned about what caused your wounds."

"I think I understand."

"I think that's enough talk about the past, don't you child? Why don't we talk about the future?"

"The future? What do you mean?"

"Well you've said that you are from a place far away, and have no way of returning there. So we must figure out something for you to do, to make a living. Tell me child, is there anything that you've been trained in, or wished to be trained in?"

"Of course there is. I am an fully fledged Genin, you know." Naruto declared, with pride showing in his voice

"A Genin?" Eleanor said, confused as this is something she'd never heard of before.

"A Genin, is the lowest ranked shinobi." Seeing the Eleanor was still confused, Naruto continued, "In the Elemental Nations, each Nation has what is called a Hidden Village. The Hidden Village is the military powerhouse of that particular nation and is usually named after the area it's built in. For instance Konoha is build in the middle of a dense forest, hence the name Konoha, The Hidden Leaf Village. The Land of Wind's shinobi village is build in the middle of a desert so it's called Suna, The Hidden Sand Village."

"I think I have a vague idea, but you still haven't described the fighting style of these Shinobi."

"Well, Shinobi are all trained as fighters, and while they can fight in large battles between armies, they specialise in assassination and espionage."

"Ah, that sounds similar to a Rouge. Here the military is a little more diverse. There is three main groups that a soldier would fall under. The first would be the Rouges, like the shinobi they specialise in assassination, quick hits, and run attacks with light weapons and armour. Secondly, there are the mages; they use magic to perform powerful combat spells, healing, and using elemental attacks. And finally there are the Warriors; they are the people who specialize in heavy, close quarter combat. They use Heavy armour and weaponry."

"That sound cool. Is there anyway I could get trained in these arts? After all it seems like a good way to make a living."

"Why yes child, it is a excellent way to make a living. The pursuit of safeguarding the helpless is always worth while. I believe I could get my husband to agree to make you a Knight of Highever."

"You'd really do that for me? Even though we've only just met?" Naruto asked in awe which made Eleanor chuckle.

"Ah child, while I would gladly help anyone I could, I do expect something in return. My son, Fergus, is currently in training, but both mine and my husband's duties prevent us from being able to teach him. And while he is a bright boy, he has no way of gaining real experience since there is no one to spar with. Which is where you come in. As payment to me and my family, you are to aid in Fergus' training, and swear to defend this castle and all within her walls with your life. Is that acceptable?"

Now Naruto was in a bind. On one hand he was a loyal shinobi of Konoha, but on the other, he really did owe Eleanor a great deal for everything she'd done for him. Although considering the fact that he isn't in the Elemental Nations and that he has no way to return meant that the chances that he would be forced to choose between the two oaths were practically zero. But then again anything is possible, after all he was sat on a bed in a so called alternate dimension.

"I accept your offer Eleanor, however I refuse to reveal any secrets I possess about Konoha." Naruto stated after several minutes of being lost in thought.

"If you had offered to tell the secrets of your village, then I would not accept you into my house. After all, the most important trait for anybody to possess is loyalty." Eleanor said as she made her way towards the door, "Now I want you to rest for the next couple of days, because once the arrangements are made, your training will begin."

"How long will that take? Because I don't want to be trapped this room for a long time"

"Trapped? You're not trapped child. You can leave the room whenever you wish, although there are restrictions as to where you can go. Any locked room will be off limit, which means no more forcing your way in like you did with my son's room, and of course, the treasury is off limits to everyone but me and my husband. Other than that all I ask is that you try to gather as much energy as you can."

* * *

Having just got the latest reports back from the scouts, Bryce was beginning to get worried, as nothing could be found to explain what had happened. Although he hoped his wife would be able to give him some details since she had sent word that the boy had woke, and she had spoke with him.

"There you are Bryce." Eleanor said while shutting the door to their room

"Where else would I be my love?"

"Well, you have been working with the patrols a lot, as of late."

"Can you blame me, with what has happened?"

"I understand perfectly Bryce, in fact that is why I am here. The boy told me what happened, and I can tell you straight away that the patrols are no longer needed."

"How can they be no longer needed? We've still to find what did this."

"You will never find it Bryce. Like I said, the boy told me what happened. The simplest way to say would be that he isn't from these lands. It's possible that he is not even from Thedas."

"Eleanor, my love, you are not making any sense. You know as well as I do that countless expeditions have been launched to explore what is beyond these lands, and yet nothing has been found. So how can the boy be from a land that does not exist?"

"Just because we cannot see it does not mean it doesn't exist. After all people like you and I cannot see the Fade, and yet we have come to accept it's existence. We know that magic is capable of great things. And we also know that the boy possesses a great deal of it. So there is the possibility that the boy's magic reacted to a situation and it took the boy away from the danger. The danger was most likely something that would find him no matter where he was within his land."

"I suppose I could accept that he may be from some distant land. But how do we know he wasn't sent here as a form of spy?"

"We cannot know for sure unless we find a way to observe the child, luckily however I have already found one." Eleanor said with a small smirk tugging at her lips

"Oh, pray tell, just what way is it?"

"The child seems to believe that he won't be able to return to his land, so I've offered him a position here as a trainee knight. A sparing partner for Fergus to be more precise."

"You wish to put a possible spy in such a high position?"

"Now come Bryce, do you really think me so naive? We both know that our son's training is observed a great deal by the trainers as well as the knights. If the child acts suspicious then one of them will witness it. And as a trainee knight he will be required to stay where he can be observed without it been seen as if were imprisoning him. And if it turns out that the child isn't a spy, well Highever would have gained another Knight, our son will have someone to practice with and the child will have an occupation to support himself with."

* * *

**Now just so you all are aware, there will be no strict updating schedule. The only two people who will be able to decide when a chapter is ready is Me and my Beta. I would rarther release a good chapter and take a while doing so, than release a chapter every week and it being no good.**

**Oh and another thing, unlike some Authors I have no Chapter Word count target. I write differently. I write a chapter with a certain set events within them. If i can get the event written well within 1000 words then the chapter will be only 1000 words long, however if it take 20,000 words then the chapter will be 20,000 words long. I'm not going to say that I refuse to publish a chapter because it hasn't reached 3,000 words.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**KitBeast**


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 3

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow (good to have you back)

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

Naruto had finally settled into his surroundings enough to let his guard down. By then it was time to begin his training. He had been given a message by one of the servants to meet Eleanor in the courtyard, where she would begin his training, and of course he was to wear cloths suitable for training. But since Naruto had no idea what Eleanor would consider 'suitable' he just had his original orange trousers, a new cream colored cotton shirt and a pair of leather boots.

As he stepped into the courtyard Naruto was still trying to get used to the boots. After years of wearing sandals with the toes open to the air, having the entire foot covered just felt wrong. Still, they did give a good amount of support.

Deciding to ignore the issue of his feet for the more important task of training, Naruto jogged the remaining distance to where Eleanor stood; however she wasn't alone.

"There you are Naruto. I had begun to think that you had gotten lost." Eleanor said, her smile showed she was only teasing.

"Well the message said to come as soon as I was ready. And to perfectly honest it took longer to get ready than I thought it would. I'm still not used to the sort of clothes you wear here."  
"Our clothes? They seem rather similar to the ones you were wearing, if I remember correctly."  
"But all my clothes had armor incorporated into the design. These don't. Look at them, there so flimsy. Even a child could hurt you through these." Naruto whined while playing with his shirt

"Naruto, these are not clothes that would be worn into battle, these are for recreational purposes. Now on to the matter of your training."

When he heard this, a grin immediately stretched across Naruto's face.

"What kind of training exactly? Are you going to teach me how to blow things up? Or how about how to have super strength?"  
"Calm down Naruto, how could I possibly answer all of those questions at once? But no, to begin with the training will be a bit more subtle. Harrison here will be seeing if you would be able to manipulate the energy within you, to produce the same results as magic." Seeing Naruto becoming even more restless she immediately added "Do not assume just because you have something similar to magic within you that you would be able to learn how to wield it. There are those who never learn how to harness their inner power. But if that avenue of training does become lost to us to use, then we will simply use another. However we should find out if you can use magic, so I will hand over your training to Harrison, since he is more capable of teaching magical skills than me."

Taking a proper look at Harrison for the first time, Naruto noticed that he seemed to be dressed differently than the majority of people. While everyone was wearing the same light weight clothes, Harrison's was of a completely different style. The main item of clothing that he had on was a loose fitting robe. The shoulder pads were a well worn dark brown leather, which joined to a golden colored cotton, that made up the rest of the chest portion of the robe. The lower half of the robe, while still being made out of cotton was a deep blue, which reached down to the floor. And the robe was adorned with large amounts of intricate stitching that made patterns that took up the entire sleeves and the outside edges of the shoulder pads.

On his back there was a large wooden stave, made of what looked like white wood. It was topped with four blades that gave it a similar look of a large mace.

"The first thing everybody learns, when it comes to magic is that magic is there to serve mankind, not rule over it. I'm sure your wondering why this is so important as to be the first thing that's taught. Well many people have been so enticed by the lure of the more powerful forbidden magic. Most commonly, blood magic."

"I don't get it, whats wrong with blood magic? Shinobi use blood in their techniques all the time." Naruto said

"Your people use blood magic?" Harrison demanded while towering over Naruto's smaller frame.

Despite of all the training and experience Naruto had gained, he was still unnerved by the action, and could only nod timidly.

"Perhaps you should allow the child to explain, before you react Harrison?" Eleanor asked. And although it was phrased as a question, you could tell by the firmness of her voice that it was an order.

"Yes my lady." Harrison said through gritted teeth. Taking a deep breathe to calm himself he finally managed to ask, "What kind of Blood magic do your people use?"

"Well, there are two main uses of blood in ninjutsu." Naruto said nervously "The first is normally seals. The seals act as a form of magical lock, that's used to lock a large range of things. From family houses to single scrolls. And the blood is the key, since each seal if tuned to a blood sample, which means only that person or their descendants would be able to open the seal. The second use is during summoning."

"Summoning?" Harrison asked intrigued what this could be.

"Yeah, where you summon an animal from the summoning realm. They're normally summoned to aid a person in combat. I can demonstrate it if you'd like?"

"NO. I mean that won't be necessary Naruto." Harrison said frantically "If you'd like to my lady, you could leave Naruto with me and be about the many duties that require your help"

"That's a wonderful idea Harrison. I will be back to check on Naruto's progress at nightfall."

"Now that we are alone I will have you learn what is considered the easiest of spells to learn. It's called the Arcane Bolt. It produces a projectile of magical energy that is used to strike an opponent." Harrison said while pointing towards the several targets at the opposite end of the training ground "This training ground is used mainly for archery practice but it will be more than adequate for our needs. They will be your targets. Now to use the Arcane Bolt you first must be able to call upon your powers at will."

"But I can already do that." Naruto interrupted, frustrated that the training seemed to be nothing more than him listening to people talk.

"Truly? Well then, show me." Harrison said while taking a couple of steps backward. "And please don't hold back, I want you to call upon all the energy you can."  
Grinning at the idea of finally doing something Naruto put his hands together in the simplest of hand seals, the ram sign, and began calling forth his chakra.

Within seconds chakra had flared all around him. The deep blue color outlined the raging energy against the castle backdrop. Harrison could see that while the energy was more potent than most forms of magic, it seemed that it had gained this by sacrificing control. The flame like wisps of energy whipped from side to side frantically like a branch caught in a gale storm.

"That's enough Naruto. I will admit that the amount of power you possess is even higher than I had originally believed, you also have less control than I had believed. While it may be possible for you to gain enough control to be able to not only use, but also master the more powerful spells, it is my belief that you would be better applying that time elsewhere."

"What? So you're not going to teach me anything?"

"I never said that Naruto. You truly need to listen to what a person is saying before you jump to conclusions. I said I don't think the path of a mage is best suited for you, not that you wouldn't be able to walk it. It all simply comes down to one thing. And that is simply if you are willing to devote your entire life to try to learn something you may never learn. However if you want I would be willing to teach the basics of the magi. You could then arrange to train in the other styles, and after you have an understanding of the different styles, you'd be able to make an informed decision."

Upset at not being able to learn any all-powerful techniques, Naruto halfheartedly agreed to Harrison's proposal.

* * *

Walking onto the training ground once again, Eleanor was surprised to see that the training was still ongoing. Something that was very surprising indeed, since night had fallen almost an hour ago. Anyone would be tired from training for so long, even if the training was simply basic knowledge that most people take for granted.

Coming to a stop next to Harrison she glanced around the grounds, and was shocked to see the damage that had been done. Whatever Harrison had taught the boy was obviously powerful, maybe even too powerful for one so young to know.

"There is so much damage. What did you teach the boy that could cause all of this?"

"Good evening my lady. Believe me, I am as shocked as you are about the damage. I did not think it was possible for someone to do this with the Arcane Bolt."

"The Arcane bolt? There is no way that a spell as simple as the Arcane Bolt could cause this much damage." Eleanor said in shock

"I thought the same before this day began. But there is a downside to the boy's raw power." Harrison stated, drawing a confused look from the lady next to him

"And what might that be?"

"He has no ability to control the energy he puts into a spell. He is simply puts a tremendous amount of raw energy behind the spell every time he casts it. That means he will tire many times faster than a normal mage, and he will not be able to use the more powerful higher level spells, because of the possibility of collateral damage."

"So what should be done then? If he cannot become a mage I am not sure as to which direction to take his training?"

"The boy is stubborn and has raw power to spare. With the correct training and a little self discipline he could become an extremely talented Templar."

"But Templars are just as highly trained as mages. So how could he become one and not the other?"

"Templars may have some basic ability to use magic, but the vast majority of their training revolves around internal magic. This allows them to increase their speed and strength, as well as making the resistant to the different forms of magic. A Master Templar is so powerful that magic is incapable of affecting them at all."

"Having a Knight trained in such a style would make defending Highever easier should it be attacked by rogue mages. Very well Harrison, I will tell Naruto and see if he would be willing to undertake this training."

"That shouldn't be much of a problem, you see I've convinced him that he should train in the three main styles of Warrior, Rogue or Magi before deciding which to specialize in."

"Excellent and I believe that should be enough for one day's training. We wouldn't want the grounds to be damaged even more would we?" Eleanor said with a quick chuckle. "NARUTO. That's enough training. Go and get some food from the kitchen and then head up to your room to rest."

"What? But I want to keep on training, I'm not even tired."

"Be that as it may, I need you to be at your best when you begin basic training with me tomorrow."

* * *

After arriving at the training ground Naruto noticed that he was too early. But that was something that he could not help. Even with all the talking that Harrison had done and all the technical teachings and spiritual beliefs, Naruto had managed to learn a powerful technique. While it may not be as flashy as the Rasengan or the Chidori it could cause just as much damage if you put enough power into it. Something he had already demonstrated was possible when he obliterated several training dummies the previous day. And since Harrison had told him that the rogue and Warrior styles were more physical than the style of the Magi, he had very high hopes for this coming training session.

As something to pass the time he had resorted to doing simple stretches, since he was determined to get a descent workout, and it wouldn't do to have to miss an entire day just because of a pulled muscle. After about 20 minutes he moved on to a slow jog, simply to elevate his heart rate slightly, and to help wake his muscles up, for the coming session.

This was the scene that Eleanor came upon when she arrived, however this time she wasn't alone. With her was a young man, probably two to three years older than Naruto himself.

"Naruto." Eleanor called getting the boy's attention. "I'd like to introduce you to my son, Fergus. He'll be your training partner."

Looking towards his new partner, Naruto saw a young man who was clearly well on his way to becoming a great soldier. His body was muscled and toned showing his pure strength and while he had developed in a way that Shinobi tried to avoid, he would still be a deadly opponent when fully trained.

Like most other Shinobi Villages, Konoha trained their shinobi that while strength was important, speed was even more so. So the people within them tended to be lean with well toned muscles that weren't overly developed. Something much more suited for endurance rather than pure power. Here however it seemed that the people focused more on Strength, something that was clear in Fergus's overly developed shoulders and arms. Naruto had to admit that he wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a strike from Fergus, whether he was armed or not.

"While the rogue's stealth and speed and a mage's devastating attacks are a great advantage for an army to possess, it would all be for naught if not for the might of the Warriors. A warrior doesn't need to worry about speed as much as a rogue due to the fact that a warrior is much better armored. This armor also allows the warrior to absorb the punishment of an enemy's attack. This is why the Warrior is always in the front lines of an army. Do either of you have any questions?"

"I have one." Naruto said raising his hand, seeing her nod for him to continue he said, "what's the point of sacrificing speed for strength. Why have all that power if you could never catch your opponent?"

"A good question. I suppose that it would be confusing for you because of where you're from. From what I can gather the people of the Elemental Nations focus on individuals. Meaning each person is suppose to be able to fight all by themselves and only if they need to would they join together in a party, and then it's normally only three or four members strong. Here, in Ferelden, things are done a lot differently. Our people are trained to fight together and only if need be would they fight individually. That way the warrior's strength would make up for the Mage's lack of defense. The Mage's range will make up for the rogue's lack of power. And the rogue's speed makes up for the Warrior's lack of mobility. When all three styles are brought together in one force they become many times more powerful. Where as in Konoha if you were to gather a large force they would be at a disadvantage, because then they would not be able to use all of there skills."

"So what are you saying? That Konoha has been doing it wrong?"

"No, not wrong. Just different."

Takings several steps back from both Naruto and Fergus, Eleanor picked up what appeared to be a simple sword.

"I know that you are past this part Fergus, but it always helps to go over the basics. After all without the basics you can't do anything."

"It's okay mother. I do not mind. It's rather nice to have someone around my own age to socialize with. The only time I normally meet people my age are at the noble balls, and I'm not particularly comfortable there as you know."

Chuckling Eleanor continued with the lesson "This here is one of the most important items for any warrior. Without a weapon they would be powerless to do any real damage. While there are a great many weapons that a warrior may choose from, there is one that every warrior knows how to use. Not only is the sword easy to learn how to wield it is also capable of dealing a respectable amount of damage. So to keep with the tradition, this is the weapon that I'll be teaching you how to use Naruto. This sword, is a basic broadsword. And how will you learn without your own?"

Taking hold of his new sword Naruto was in awe. While it was a basic sword like Eleanor had said, it was beautiful in it's simplicity. It was a two-edged blade that was clearly designed for cutting and driving. It was 30 inches in length, the shortest length of broadswords, and the end of the blade tapered to a deadly point. Along with the short length, the blade was incredibly light, weighing just 3 pounds and it was clearly designed to be used in one hand.

"Now this Naruto is a wooden Buckler. It's the most basic of shields, and it's perfect for apprentice warriors to get used to how to combine the sword and shield to make a powerful and deadly combination. As your skill and strength increases you'll be able to move onto heavier swords and shields. Not to mention the armor. But until you are deemed good enough, you will not be allowed to wear any armor. To wear armor means that you are a representative of Highever, and I refuse to allow anyone, not even my own son, to have that honor without earning it. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, now can we start training." Naruto asked in exasperation, desperate to work off some of the pent up energy

"I do not know how it works in Konoha, Naruto. But here in Ferelden, you WILL show respect. I am not your friend, nor am I your mother or grandmother. Do not act as if that is the case. Perhaps in time we may become friends. Even so, you will still need to show respect. As an apprentice you are the lowest ranked soldier in Ferelden. So the only person who are socially lower than you are the commoners. So to every soldier, whether they're just a foot soldier or a general, you respect will be shown. This is not just for your amusement. The job of protecting the lives and freedom of the people of Highever will rest on your shoulders, so do not take this lightly."

"I... I understand."

"Good. Now the basic techniques of wielding a sword are as follows..."

* * *

**Yes I know I have already uploaded Chapter 3, but if you would be so kind as to remember I did tell you all that once my Beta returned I would replace the unbeta'd chapters. So this is what im doing.**

**Oh and just so I don't have to keep sending this to individual people who ask, Naruto has NOT forgotten his ninja techniques, just hasn't needed to use them yet.**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 4

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto or Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

It had been three and a half months since Naruto began his basic training in the Warrior style. After the first two months had passed, he had been given the choice of which style he wished to train in: warrior, rogue, or mage. He had been confused since he had only been trained in the basics of the warrior and mage styles. But when Fergus had explained to him that rogues were essentially the Shinobi of Ferelden he understood. After spending an entire weekend focusing on the choice Naruto decided that the way of the warrior was more suited to him. He never had the control needed to walk the path of a mage, and he never had the finesse to really grow as a rogue. This had left him with the Warrior styles. Having made the decision on the direction of his future, Naruto threw himself into his training and in the period of one month he had caught up to Fergus.

* * *

Both Fergus and Naruto could regularly be found in one of the castle's many training grounds, sparing to increase their skills and perfect their arts. The many hours spent together both boys had began to think of the other as more than friends, and more as brothers, or very close cousins.

This closeness however didn't stop them trying to out do each other. Even with the head start Fergus had, he was struggling to keep ahead of the monstrous pace Naruto was learning at. The only thing that Fergus was confident about was his strength. He knew it would take Naruto at least a year of hard training to even threaten his dominance in that department. However even with this advantage Fergus still found himself losing to Naruto more often as days pass. At first Fergus was not overly concerned about this, after all he had witnessed the effort Naruto had put into his training. He had neglected it in favor of wooing the opposite sex; a choice which had demanded a lot of his time. But as time passed and Naruto gained more and more skill, and more victories, he became increasingly arrogant, and over confident in his skills.

Finally having enough of this new behavior Fergus thought it would be best if Naruto learned he was not indomitable. And the quickest and easiest way to do this was to make him lose against someone in a spar. He had seen a fair few soldiers who had grow arrogant never return, having underestimated their opponents. So that was why he was currently standing outside his parents' chambers.

After receiving permission to enter, he did. As Fergus had expected it was only his mother that was present, but that was perfectly acceptable.

"Hello mother." Fergus said

"Fergus? I thought you would be with Naruto training?" Eleanor asked pleasantly surprised to see her son.

"I know. But I really need to speak to you mother."

Now Eleanor was worried, since she knew Fergus was a very independent person. The last time he had asked for her help was when he wasn't sure how to go about healing a broken arm he'd suffered when he fell off a horse. So what ever was troubling him would be serious.

"There is a big problem with Naruto mother."

"Naruto? Is he injured?" She asked worriedly

"No mother, at least not yet."

"Not yet? Fergus you aren't making any sense. Please just tell me what's wrong."

"You are aware of how well Naruto's training has progressed over the last few months?" Fergus asked, and when he saw her confused nod he continued, "Recently he has been besting me in our spars. While normally this would simply mean that I need to step up my own training, his behavior has become very troubling. He has somehow come to think that nobody would be able to beat him. I have known many men and women who thought the same, and all of them died very soon afterwords. I do not want that to happen to such a close friend as Naruto."

"Yes, that is disturbing. But what am I to do about it?"

"Naruto is unaware of your past mother. Therefore if you were to beat him in a spar, something I know you're more than capable of doing, then he should learn that he is not the best, before it is too late."

"That could work. The shock would most likely break him of his behavior, and I'm sure I'd enjoy a spar. Yes, I think that I have neglected my own training for too long. Please Fergus, go and bring Naruto to the main training ground. I'll meet you there."

Quickly leaving the room Fergus made his way to the grounds where Naruto was practicing. Seeing that he was currently taking a break Fergus was overjoyed. Since Naruto was rested, then he had nothing he could blame for losing except himself.

"Naruto. Come with me quickly."

"Eh Fergus? Go with you where?" Naruto asked curious as to the glee lasing Fergus's voice.

"Since you keep beating me, I thought you'd like a better opponent."

"You found another sparing partner?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Yes Naruto. We're to meet them at the main training grounds. That is if you want to spar against them of course."

"Of course, I want to spar against them. I know they won't be able to beat me, after all the practice I've put in, nobody can. But they may be able to offer a challenge."

"I wouldn't be so sure Naruto. They were known for being the strongest by a lot of people." Fergus chuckled.

"I doubt that I was the strongest Fergus, but I do appreciate the confidence that you have in my abilities." Eleanor said walking up behind Naruto.

Quickly turning at the sound of her voice Naruto was shocked to see her wearing a set of well worn battle armor. The armor was made of a combination of a light leather cuirass and leather skirt. She also had a pair of steel greaves, and steel pauldrons which completed the armor set. Eleanor also had a relatively plain sword and basic Buckler.

"You're the person I'm suppose to spar against?" Naruto asked clearly in shock.

"Don't sound so surprised Naruto. I wasn't always a Teynra." Eleanor said "Now Naruto I believe we should start no?"

"If you wish my lady, but don't blame me when you're beaten."

"You shouldn't brag about victory before you have actually achieved it Naruto."

While facing off against each other Naruto couldn't help but feel confident. After all the training he had done, he had become what he believed, was unbeatable. This belief was reinforced by the constant victories in the spars against Fergus. While he was willing to admit that Eleanor might have been powerful, but she was beyond her prime. And Naruto had seen what that could do to a person's ability to fight. That was one of the reasons Orochimaru managed to beat the Third Hokage during the Chunnin Exams. While in contrast Naruto was still to enter his prime. He could only get stronger in the coming years. This combined with the endless training, gave Naruto the belief that he had already won.

Launching forward with as much speed as his legs could muster, Naruto tried ending the spar before it had even begun with a simple thrust. However the move had been telegraphed and Eleanor easily countered. Parring the thrust to the side she followed through by placing her blade at Naruto's neck.

Naturally, Naruto was shocked that he was beaten so quickly, but in his arrogance, he simply put it down to luck.

Removing her blade, Eleanor stepped back, disappointed at how much Naruto had allowed arrogance to control him. It seemed that Fergus wasn't overstating, as she had originally thought. And now she would deal with it the quickest way she knew. Humiliation.

Settling down into a more relaxed stance, she quickly put her plan into action when Naruto once again attacked with an overly telegraphed strike, this time a over head strike, that would cut from her left shoulder down to her right hip. That was if it wasn't once again blocked by the simple buckler that she wore on her left arm, leaving Naruto's guard virtually destroyed. It was a really simple task for her to thrust her blade once again at his neck. This time however, she didn't stop early like she had done before, allowing her blade to leave a shallow cut on Naruto's neck. While the wound wasn't dangerous, or life threatening, it would leave a scar.

Now Naruto was truly shocked. Not once but twice he had been beaten effortlessly. But Naruto was never one to give up, so once again he launched another attack once they had returned to their ready stances. And once again he was easily defeated.

This continued for almost an hour, each time that Naruto attacked, he was completely defeated. However his pride refused to believe that he had lost. Even though he knew he had, he simply refused to believe it. Something that was starting to wear on Eleanor's patience. Deciding that she had enough of this behavior, she caught Naruto's latest attack and flipped him so he landed hard on the ground, and once again found her blade at his neck.

"Enough Naruto. I cannot believe that I had not noticed how arrogant you had become" Eleanor said, frustration clear in her voice.

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"You have somehow got it into your head that you are the best. Let me tell you, you're not. I myself have beaten you repeatedly. And I am not a master of the sword. I am much more better trained in archery, and yet I beat you. Do you have any idea why this is?"

"Experience." Naruto said unsure of his reply

"While that had something to do with it, it was not the main contributor. Your belief that you can beat anyone meant that you let your guard down, leaving multiple ways that you could have been killed. There is a very simple saying that I think you should take to heart. 'There is always someone better than you.' Which means while you might become good, if not truly great, you will never become unbeatable."

"But what about all the people I heard about? Calenhad the Great was considered to be an unbeatable warrior."

"He was an ferocious warrior, that much anyone would admit, but that did not mean he was unbeatable. While normally it would take one or two people to beat an average warrior. It would take hundreds to beat Calenhad, but he would still fall like everyone else."

"So everything that I've worked for is useless?"

"Oh? I thought you said that you wanted to be strong enough to protect your precious people? No amount of work would be useless if that is achieved. Now Naruto that's enough for the day. I want you to take the next couple of days off and think about what exactly you want from life, and how to go about gaining that."

"Yes my lady." Naruto said dejectedly.

* * *

Walking into his room Naruto flopped, almost boneless, onto his bed. Everything he had thought, everything he believed for the last few months had all been shattered in just a few minutes. He had begun to believe that maybe he might have been strong enough where he wouldn't let down his precious people, and break his promises like he had done with his promise to Sakura.

But apparently he wasn't anywhere near.

Sighing, he stood up so he could remove his training clothes and get dressed in a simple pair of boxers so he could go to bed, even though he knew that sleep would most likely allude him.

Lying in the confines of his bed, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to the time two months ago since he had made his decision as to which style he would study.

_Sitting in the courtyard of the castle, Naruto was giving the choice of which style to follow another thought. It was easy for him to rule out the way of the mage, after all it was virtually impossible for him to learn anything other than the Arcane Bolt without spending a lifetime learning control that might not even help him. So this left him two choices. rogue or warrior. While he was familiar with rogues because they were basically the shinobi of Ferelden. But then again the rogues of Fereleden emphasized stealth and striking from shadows, using brains and finesse to defeat opponents in a way they would never expect. While Naruto knew how to hide when he needed to, he preferred to fight his opponents face to face, something that suited Warriors perfectly. Naruto knew that he would never be able to abandon the lessons of Shinobi that he had learned, because they were all that he had left of his home. But that didn't mean that he wasn't ready to follow his own path. The path of a Warrior really did seem perfect. It would give him the strength to protect the people he cared about, plus he knew that even if he died, because warriors were always on the front line, then they would at least fall before any one else._

_Nartuo was clear as to what he would do. He would become a Warrior and make sure that everyone he cared about was protected by his Sword, his Shield, and, more importantly, his own body. He even remembered something Fergus had said about a group of Warriors, that were considered to be some of the best close range fighters. A group that was a mages' worst enemy. Hopefully if he proved himself, maybe he could even become one._

When he finally returned from his thought's Naruto saw that it had been a couple of hours since he began thinking, and he was beginning to feel drowsy. It seemed that he wouldn't be losing as much sleep as he had thought he would be. Then again, he had just got back some of the motivation that had been lost in his arrogance. He promised to himself that when Eleanor allowed him to start training again he will train as hard as possible. This time he wouldn't train to be the best, he'd simply train to be better.

* * *

**While this chapter had the 'Filler' feel to it, it is important. It's the chapter that explains why Naruto chose to be a Warrior, not a rogue. And of course it shows that he is also human, and capable of making mistakes. And of course a little bit of his training. Do you think that I should give Naruto more than one weapon? or should he just use the same weapon through out the story?**


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 5

Written by KitBeast

Beat'd by Vixen's Shadow

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchises of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

Standing on the edge of the courtyard Naruto was still in awe of the ceremony that was being organized in his honor. There were vast amounts of Elves running to and fro, desperate to make the ceremony the best in living memory. The reason for all this commotion taking place was because tomorrow was the day when Naruto and the rest of the Knight Apprentices, became full Knights of the realm. It was the day Naruto had been working towards for 2 years. Naruto had also worked out that tomorrow would be October 10th, his birthday. Because Thedas didn't use the same calendar as the Elemental Nations, it had taken a while for him to figure out just when the coinciding date would be, but later he had figured it out. And to be honest with himself, he thought it couldn't have been better. Tomorrow was not only the day that he became a full Knight, it is also the day he turned 16 and became a man.

"Excuse me Ser Knight, but I need to get past." came the voice of a young elven woman

"Oh? Sorry about that. I'm a little distracted." Naruto said, paying no attention to whom he was talking to.

"That's understandable Ser Knight."

"Wait a minute, I know that voice." Naruto said, finally turning to see who she was. "Iona?" Naruto asked

"Hello, Ser Knight. I see you have grown well." Iona said kindly.

"It's good to see you again Iona. How are you?" Naruto asked pleasantly

"I'm good, thank you Ser Knight."

"Please Iona, call me Naruto. We have known each other for years, ever since your husband's unfortunate illness."

"Indeed we have Naruto. However, as much as I would like to stay, I need to carry on with my duties."  
"Of course. Perhaps we could meet up later. I really would like to talk to you again."

"I'd like that Naruto."

Watching as Iona left, Naruto was once again captured by the events around him. After staying for hours and seeing tomorrow's event take shape around him, he decided to leave and get some food before tracking down Iona once again.

* * *

After finally completing her daily duties, Iona had finally been released for the evening by Lady Landra. As Landra's Lady in waiting, Iona had accompanied her to visit Landra's childhood friend, Teyrna Cousland. While it had not been the first time she had visited Highever, it was the first time she was not consumed with grief.

The first visit she had was when she had still believed that there was some way of saving her husband from his illness. It had taken hold of him very quickly and watched as he wasted away before her very eyes. She was lucky enough however that the skilled healers at Highever had been able to take away the pain accompanying the disease and allowed her husband a peaceful passing.

It had been then that she had met Naruto. Having been overcome by the grief of her husband's passing, and the uncertainty of how she would manage to raise her daughter, Amethyne, Iona had wandered the castle grounds for hours until she had found a secluded spot where she could finally release her emotions. She had spent nearly 20 minutes crying before she realized she had company in the form of a young boy with blonde hair, and deep blue eyes.

After introducing himself as Naruto Uzumaki, a Knight Apprentice at Highever, he had spent the night with her consoling her over her loss, and being a shoulder for her to cry on. Something she really appreciated, since most people would just leave her to her own devices because she was an elf.

After they had left Highever, Naruto had kept in touch with her, with letters, and he often sent her gifts on her birthday. Over the years she had come to depend on the support and friendship his letters gave, and during the times where Lady Landra visited the Teyrna, or the Teyrna visited Lady Landra, Naruto and Iona would often spend the evening talking, and soon she had found that Naruto had become one of, if not her closest, friend.

That had been reinforced when she had visited her daughter in the Denerim Alienage. Lady Landra had feared for her safety from bandits on the road to Denerim, so Naruto, who had been one of the Teyrna's bodyguards, had volunteered to accompany her. The Teyrna had agreed saying she didn't need a bodyguard with Landra, and that the experience Naruto would gain seeing the world would do him good.

The path to Denerim had been fairly quiet with only a couple of bandits, which had been easily dispatched by Naruto, which had given them time to get to know each other on a more personal level. After the 4 day trek had come to an end and they found themselves at Denerim, Iona had said that Naruto could stay at her house, as payment for his protection on the road.

There he had quickly formed a bond with Amethyne and was often seen walking with her in the Market, buying her all sorts of gifts and toys. Seeing this and with all of the previous interactions she had with him, Iona had found herself being steadily drawn towards Naruto.

Nothing had been done about their relationship for several reasons. The main of which was the age difference between them; she was nearly 24, while Naruto was simply 14. Not to mention the fact that she was, until recently, still in grieving for her late husband. A small part of the problem though was simply the fact that they were from two very different cultures. As a city elf she was considered to be lower than her human neighbors and Naruto was a knight. Not that it mattered to Naruto, but Iona didn't want to cause any problems for anyone. She had already done very well for herself, being raised to the position of Lady-in-Waiting, something that had been unheard of for an elf, something she didn't want to jeopardize.

But now, Naruto had grown into a fine young man, and she had finally put her grief behind her. Perhaps it was time to try to find happiness once again. And of course Amethyne had taken a very good liking to him. And that was essential in her eyes.

* * *

The constant chatter surrounded him as Naruto tried to eat. However it seemed no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to do anything other than to just sit there. If anything went wrong tomorrow, he would be devastated. To Naruto it was the most important day of his life. And while graduating from the Academy in Konoha was important, he had always felt that it was too easy. If it hadn't been for the neglect of the teachers, he would have passed on his first attempt, and it was easy. The only thing they needed was a basic understanding of TaiJutsu and GenJutsu and to demonstrate the 3 basic NinJutsu. But to become a Knight, Naruto had to work for years. Master a great many techniques and learn to wield a vast array of weapons. Not to mention the specialized training he'd been given to help Highever. If something went wrong, then all that training, all that time and effort would be for nothing.

Deciding that since he couldn't eat that he would try to clear his head, Naruto left the dining hall and made his way towards the courtyard. It was a beautiful day; the sun had just started to descend below the horizon. Coming to a stop to in the courtyard, Naruto sat on one of the benches that were scattered around.

Staring at the sunset, Naruto once again tried to calm his nerves. But no matter what they refused to settle. It wasn't helped when he was startled by the placing of a hand on his shoulder.  
Turning to see who it was he was immediately relived to see it was just Iona.

"You seem troubled Ser Knight." She said softly while taking a seat next to him, gazing at the sunset.

"I've told you many times Iona, call me Naruto. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are Naruto. Now please tell me what troubles you."  
"I'm not troubled, just nervous. I've devoted 3 years to becoming a knight, and tomorrow I might find that I have wasted that time by not succeeding."

"There is no need to waste your time imagining what might or might not be. Instead you should feel proud of your achievements."

"I am proud of what I have done but I can't help but feel nervous."

Smiling gently Iona turned so she was facing him, grasping his right hand in her own. Bringing it up to her lips, she gave it a soft kiss, surprising Naruto.

"I'll make you a deal Naruto. If you succeed tomorrow, not only will you become a Knight, but I will help you become a man as well."

"Become a man? What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused as to what she could mean.

"You shall see Naruto. But trust me, you will enjoy it." Iona said with a smile.

* * *

The morning came quicker than Naruto would have liked, although his nerves had settled somewhat overnight. Having eaten a good breakfast Naruto made his way towards the Courtyard. After all it wouldn't do for him to be late for such an important day.

Entering the courtyard, Naruto saw that he wasn't the only one to have this idea, because the vast majority of the other apprentices had the same idea.

Walking towards the group of apprentices, Naruto could help but notice how different they all looked now that they were in their new armor. Although it was a common, Grey Iron Scale Armor that they wore, it symbolized that they were all fully trained, and ready to become a Knight. Naruto spent the next 20 minutes listening to his fellow apprentices while waiting for the time when the ceremony began. Although his patient waiting was interrupted when he heard a surprising thing mentioned by one of the apprentices.

"Can you believe it? Today is the day that we become Knights and we already have our first deployment." The apprentice said in excitement.

"I know. We have to march straight away after the ceremony." Another replied

"Wait, you're leaving straight away?" Naruto asked in shock. And when he saw the apprentice nod Naruto said, "Then that means you're leaving with Fergus. So you're going to join the King's army at Ostagar."

"I know, it's brilliant isn't it. Although I don't know why you didn't already know this, since you're coming with us, right?"

Naruto was about to say that he wasn't, when Bryce, Eleanor and Fergus entered the Courtyard. Knowing how disrespectful it would be to talk now that the ceremony was beginning, Naruto stopped replying. But he told himself that he would find out what is happening after the ceremony.

Taking his place alongside the other apprentices for the ceremony, Naruto stood waiting for what was sure to become a memorable day for him.

The group of apprentices took their place to one side of the raised stage which Bryce, Eleanor and Fergus was stood upon. Glancing around the crowd of both nobles and commoners Naruto searched for Iona. Seeing her towards the back of the crowd Naruto relaxed somewhat.

"Good Moring everyone. Today is a very important day for not only Highever, but the seven young apprentices stood here before you. For years each of them has sacrificed their time, their blood, and their family to grow and become powerful enough to be classed as a full Knight. And today is the day their sacrifices are rewarded. Now to continue, will all of the apprentices come and kneel before me." Bryce had said in a loud and clear voice, which resounded throughout the courtyard.

Confidently the apprentices moved up onto the stage and knelt in front of Bryce.

"A knight is nothing without his word. Without it, his life is meaningless. And now to become a knight you must give your word. Do you swear to protect the people of Highever with your lives?"

"We give our word, my lord." The apprentices said as one

"Do you swear to never sheave your sword while enemies threaten your people?"

"We give our word, my lord."

"Do you swear to always shield your people from anyone who would harm them, whether they be foreign or domestic?"

"We give our word, my lord."

"Then rise as a Knight and claim your Shields." Bryce said as he took a step to the side, allowing Eleanor to take his place. As each Apprentice steped forward, she presented them with a Kite shield made from Yew wood, and each had the Cousland Heraldry painted on the front.

After watching the other apprentices gain their shields, Naruto stepped forward. He was surprised at the shield that Eleanor now held.

"You have grown exponentially over the last 3 years Naruto. Both Bryce and I agree that you have more than earned the honor of wielding this shield." Eleanor said giving Naruto one of the most prized items possessed by the Cousland Family: The Shield of Highever. A kite shield inscribed with the Cousland Heraldry just like the normal guard shields, however this one was made out of a much more sturdy Grey Iron.

"My lady, why give this to me? Surly if anyone should wield this it should be Fergus." Naruto said surprised as to what was happening.

"As I have said before Naruto, your strength means that you could become as great as any of the legendary warriors of our past. And hopefully this shield will serve you as well as it did Ardal Cousland."

Stepping back to the rest of the apprentices Naruto secured the shield on his back, held by the scabbard of his Longsword.

"My lords and Ladies, I give you our new Knights." Bryce said walking to the front of the stage, causing the crowd to burst into applause. Allowing the applause to die down after several moments, Bryce carried on with "And now I give you my son."

"Thank you Father." Fergus said stepping forward "As I'm sure you all know the King has decreed that the army is to gather at Ostagar. Therefore I will be leading the men and women of Highever, to join the King's army. If all things go well, we will be back within the month, safe in the knowledge that the blight has been defeated and the lands of Highever are safe once again."

Hearing this, the crowd cheered energetically, proud of what their son and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives would soon be doing for their people.

"The army will depart within the hour." Fergus said before heading down threw crowd.

After several minutes the crowd had settled down enough for Naruto to approach Bryce.

"My lord, may I have a word with you?"

"Congratulations on your Knighthood, Naruto. Now what can I do for you?" Bryce said kindly

"Thank you my lord, but I was wondering why I am not to march with the army?"

"I knew you would ask about that, but I had thought it would not be for a while yet." Bryce said with a sigh "The reason why is rather simple. With the majority of the army gone, we need strong soldiers to be here to guard to castle. And tomorrow when I leave to join Fergus in Ostagar you will be in command of the Castle Guard."

"Guard Commander? Are you sure, my lord?" Naruto asked shocked

"Yes Naruto, Guard Commander. You've shown your leadership qualities a great many times in your training, so now you have a chance to show that on a larger scale."

"I won't let you down my lord. You have my word."

"I know you won't Naruto." Bryce said confidently.

Having been essentially promoted from apprentice, to full Knight to Guard Commander in a single day had taken a lot out of Naruto, so that's why he had been sat on the same bench as he was the previous night, watching as the crowd dispersed. But once again it seemed his peace was not to be, as he was disturbed when he felt someone grasping his hand. Looking at who it was, he saw it was Iona. Returning the smile that she was giving to him, Naruto returned to relaxing in the cooling air.

That's the way they remained for what seemed like hours, before Iona stood, still grasping his hand.

"Come Ser Knight, I believe I promised you a reward." Iona said leading him back towards the castle.

* * *

Entering the room that had been his for the last three years, Naruto couldn't feel more relaxed than he was at the moment. Feeling the soft push of Iona, as she directed him towards the bed, Naruto allowed her to lead him. When he reached the bed, he turned to face her, and lay casually on the bed, watching as took several step back.

"And now Ser Knight, I will show you the pleasures of the female body." Iona said provocatively, as she unclasped the straps that held her dress up.

* * *

**Now I have recieved several reviews saying that Naruto seems to have 'forgotten' his past. Well I would like to point out that he hasn't. Just because he hasn't used his Shinobi Techniques yet doesn't mean he's magically forgotten them. At 12 years old, he only ever used Kage Bunshin in Battles, and he hasn't been in anything other than spars so far. He hasn't had any need for Kamiwari or Henge yet. And the only other techniques he has are the Rasengan and Summoning. Again only used in battles. And another problem with summoning is that it needs blood to be used which is classed as Blood magic in the Dragon Age Universe.**

**Now if you haven't already guessed there was a time skip in this chapter. He's now 16, the same age as in Shippuuden.**

**Another thing is I have finally decided on both the Pairing and the Weapons. The pairing will be kept secret (Not NarutoXIona By the way) but I will announce the Weapon, It is Primarily a Longsword and Shield, but he will use another 'secret' weapon. Not really an announcement but oh well.**

**Vixen's Shadow: Sorry for everyone who had to read the previous, uncorrected version. Crazy amounts of school work. Particularly, a very difficult research paper and final exams; you try doing a paper on a topic that people seem to avoid. Took forever to piece the thing together, but never fear, I will finish up what is already posted and the one or two I hear KitBeast might have held off. More or less I'm back with no known computer or internet problems in the near future, with lots of time between my summer classes too. I even have three day weekends!**


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 6

Written By KitBeast

Beat'd by Vixen's Shadow (Again much appreciated)

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I owe any franchise use in this story. They are the property of there creators.**

* * *

Naruto was woken up by strange sounds from the hallway outside his room. Naruto wasn't the only person woken up by the noise because Iona stood up lazily from the bed and made her way towards the door. Watching as she made her way over to the door, Naruto pulled on a pair of black trousers and boots, clearly getting ready to investigate whatever was causing it.

Having just finished tying the laces on his boots Naruto watched as Iona pulled the door open, only to back up into the room in clear terror.

Since he couldn't see what was happening from his perspective, Naruto jumped onto the bed, however he was stopped instantly in his attempt when Iona was struck by an arrow. Watching in horror as she fell, Naruto scrambled to get off the bed and get to her side.

"Look here Ralph, an Elf. An extremely attractive, half naked elf," snickered a sickening voice from just outside the doorway.

"I know Lucas, It's a shame we have to kill her." Ralph said.

"Don't worry, there's nothing stopping us from having some fun." Lucas said as he made his way through the doorway.

Naruto finally broke out of his shock and immediately rocketed towards the two disgusting animals that were dressed as soldiers. Since they had made their way into the room, approaching the fallen Iona, Naruto found himself between the men and the door. Gathering his chakra, Naruto charged his favorite technique, the Rasengan. However this wasn't just one Rasengan, but one in each hand; the training that he had been given clearly improved his control. The deafening roar created by the twin attacks gained the attention of the two soldiers.

When they turned to see what was causing the noise, Naruto slammed the attack into their chests.

The compressed spiral of chakra drilled its way through the armor that they wore. After the briefest moment, the armor was destroyed by the attack, and then the spheres met the soft, vulnerable skin with devastating effect.

Not even caring as the two soldiers slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, Naruto threw himself down to Iona's side, clutching her hand in his.

"IONA!" Naruto shouted desperately searching for anything he could do to save her.

"It's okay Naruto." Iona spluttered as blood poured out of her mouth. "No one could have known this would happen."

"Is there anything I can do? Please tell me there is something I can do." Naruto begged.

* * *

Running flat out down the hallway Eleanor was desperate to get to Naruto. Since the army was away everyone was needed to defend the castle against this unexpected attack. Although he might not be enough to single handedly win the battle, Naruto's attacks which he had brought from his homeland would be enough to at least turn the tide of battle. However if it took much longer for her to find him it wouldn't matter because then there would be nobody left to save.

Turning into the hallway leading up to his room her hopes began to rise as she saw that the lights were on in his room. After all everyone knew not to leave the candles on unattended, because of the risks of fires.

Coming to a stop outside his door, she was shocked to see Naruto hunched over another body. Taking a closer look at who it was, she was surprised to see a near naked Iona laid motionless on the floor. Knelling alongside Naruto, Eleanor could see that she had been struck with an arrow, and that Naruto had tears pouring down his checks. Placing a hand gently on his shoulder, she shook him trying to get him out of his stupor. After several tense moments, Naruto finally looked away from Iona's blood streaked face.

"Naruto, what happened? Why is Iona in your room half naked?" Eleanor asked in clear confusion

"You know that me an Iona are...were very close to one another. She said she wanted to help me celebrate becoming a Knight, by helping me become a man."

"I see, but please, tell me what happened." Eleanor asked, desperate to find out.

"We heard a noise. Iona went to take a look, while I got dressed. But when she opened the door, those two monsters attacked her, before I could stop them." Naruto said indicating the two dead soldiers slumped against the back wall of his room.

"I see. I'm sorry I have to say this, but we have to leave her Naruto."

"Leave her?" Naruto demanded

"Just for now Naruto. The castle is being attacked, so we must go and defend it. I promise you Naruto, she will be here afterwards." Eleanor said gently

"I understand. Please My lady, would you do me a favor?" Naruto asked

"Of course Naruto. What is it?"

"Please take Iona's body and put it somewhere her body can't be defiled. I'm going to go get my equipment." Naruto said while moving towards one of the majestic mahogany cabinets.

Opening the door, Naruto immediately went about removing the armor stored within. The interlocking scales of armor glinted against the dying light given off by the candles. After a couple of minutes, Naruto had finally finished putting on the armor. It looked like it was going to see combat a lot sooner than he had thought. He might have simply been naive but Naruto had truly hoped that he would never have to wear it in real combat, a hope that died within its first 12 hours.

The last thing that was in the cabinet was the longsword that Naruto had used for the last 3 years. He had only had it returned the night before. As an apprentice he was expected to always be ready to defend himself like any other knight was, however since apprentices were made to carry a blunt sword, to signal that they weren't fully trained. Only when their skill had been sharpened were they allowed to sharpen their blades.

Having finished gathering his equipment Naruto waited for Eleanor to finish inspecting the two men he had killed moments before hand. He wasn't used to seeing her like this, in her full battle armor. In fact the last time he had seen her wield a weapon had been during the spar he had against her years beforehand. But the large bow that dominated his view of her, combined with the hardened leather armor made her look like a deadly warrior. Seeing her stand up Naruto knew she had finished and by the horrified expression on her face, she didn't like what she found.

"My lady, what happened?" Naruto asked in concern, his duty to the Teryna taking precedence to his own emotional turmoil.

"A scream woke me up. There were men in the hall so I barred the door. Did you see their shields?"

"No my lady, I must admit that my emotions blinded me."

"They are Howe's men. Why would they attack us?" Eleanor said in confusion.

"I do not know my lady, but with the majority of the troops gone this is the perfect time to betray the Teyrn."

"You don't think Howe's men were delayed on purpose?" Eleanor asked in disbelieve. Seeing Naruto nod she said "That Bastard! I'll cut his lying throat myself."

It took several seconds for her to gain control over the anger surging threw her system. And not that it had been calmed she remembered one of the reasons she was here.

"Have you seen Bryce? He never came to bed." She asked with worry

"No my lady, I didn't. I have been in my room all night."

"We must find him then."

"It sounds like the battle is downstairs my lady. It is most likely the Teyrn is commanding the remaining troops."

"We must fight our way to him. He will need us both." She said with conviction.

"Perhaps you should stay here until the coast is clear my lady."

"I'm no Orlesian wall flower. Give me a sword and I'll use it. Now let's go."

Nodding Naruto made his way out of the room and down the hallway. The normally peaceful silence shattered by the sounds of battle echoing throughout the empty hallways. Surprised as Eleanor stopped outside one of the rooms, it took Naruto several seconds to notice that this was in fact Fergus's room. Understanding her intent Naruto took a quick look around to make sure that they wouldn't be blindsided by any lingering enemy soldiers. His search however was disturbed by the soul destroying scream that emerged from the room. Stepping into the room he was shocked to see that Eleanor was sobbing over the dead body of a woman and a young boy. Looking closer he saw that it was Oriana Cousland, Fergus's 25 year old wife, and Oren Cousland, Fergus's 6 year old son. Seeing such an innocent person as Oren killed for no reason made Naruto's heart sink. Moving to stand alongside the kneeling Eleanor he began to hear what she was muttering as she held Oren in her lap.

"No... my little Oren. What manner of fiend slaughters innocents?"

"We'll make them pay my lady." Naruto said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Howe's not even taking hostages, he means to kills all of us, oh my poor Fergus." Lowering Oren onto the floor once again Eleanor stood and said in disgust "Let's go, I don't want to see this."

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity Eleanor and Naruto left the hallways that joined together all of the living quarters. Standing in the expansive outside passageways, Naruto took a moment to take in all he could. The peaceful pale moonlight betrayed the chaos that was underway just meters away.

Naruto was shocked out of his peaceful moment when a scream tore through the silence.

"Can you hear the fighting? Howe's men must be everywhere." Eleanor said

"What should we do then my lady?"

"The front gates. That's where Bryce must be." Eleanor said desperate to get to her husband.

"Then that is where we will go then my lady." Naruto said heading down one of the side passages which would take him straight to the gates. However after just several strides he realized that Eleanor wasn't following him. Confused since she is clearly desperate to get going, yet she is refusing to take a single step.

"What's wrong my lady?" Naruto asked.

"It's Howe's men. If there already far enough past the gates to attack us in the living quarters then they must already control the castle. If that's true then we must use the passage in the servant's larder to escape?"

"But my lady, what about the gates?"

"There are things that need to be done beforehand. Bryce is more than capable to hold his own for a while."

"Well then my lady, what needs to be done?" Naruto asked interested in what could be more important than the Teyrn.

"We will head towards the Treasury. We will be able to see how many people have survived since the Common quarters are on the way. We would be able to direct any survivors to the larder passage. And we can NOT allow Howe to get into the Treasury. Within the treasury is the ancestry and wealth of the Cousland Family. I will not allow Howe to destroy my family." Eleanor said with conviction.

It took a few seconds for Naruto to realize what was happening, when Eleanor set off running flat out down a different path. Following after her, Naruto found that even though she was past her prime, she was by no way weak or slow. Eleanor came to a stop as she came to a corner of one of the many small armories that were scattered around the castle.

Coming alongside her, Naruto peered around the corner and was horrified by the carnage he saw.

Several Knights lay in puddles of their own blood that oozed from the countless wounds that covered their bodies. Not that they had failed. That was proven by the numerous enemy soldiers littering the path, and of course he could see even more corpses in the armory itself.

"Keep watch Naruto, while I check this out." Eleanor said while creeping through the corpses and peering in the open doorway.

Deciding that the easiest way to carry out his new 'mission' would be from the doorway itself, Naruto followed Eleanor, however unlike her, he stopped at the door. The perspective that this position gave him means that no one would be able to sneak up on them. And of course while he knew Eleanor could take care of herself, he could help but feel nervous since it was his duty to protect not only the people but his lord and lady as well. And leaving her to go on so unprotected went against everything he had been trained to do. But she was his lady, what could he do when she had given an order. An indirect order, but an order all the same.

* * *

As she entered the armoury, Eleanor could easily see the conflicting emotions that warred for dominance on Naruto's face. She knew how hard it was for Naruto to leave her. And while she knew he was just doing his duty, not only as a knight but as a friend, she wanted to show if only to herself that she was still capable of doing things on her own.

Seeing dead bodies always troubled her but seeing that a fair few of the bodies that surrounded her, her own men hurt. While she might not spend a lot of time with the soldiers individually, she always thought of them as an extended family of sort. So each soldier she saw dead hurt just a little but more than the last. The dead enemy soldiers didn't affect her since they had attacked her home, attacked her people. So in her mind they deserved their fate many times over.

Searching for something to distract her from her disturbing thoughts, Eleanor began the process of searching the bodies. Remembering to always treat the bodies with respect, even the enemy bodies, she found a fair amount of useable gear. Mainly just basic health potions, stamina potions and mana potions but she found a couple of sacks of money. Not a great deal but she had gathered at least half a sovereign from the twelve or so bodies in the armory. While it was not a great deal in itself but she knew every single piece of money would help either rebuilding the Castle or starting over.

Having gathered everything she could out of the room she made her way back out to join Naruto.

* * *

After what seemed like hours, but in reality only minutes, Eleanor finally left the armory and Naruto could finally relax again. When Eleanor left the room, she immediately went about sorting out the potions she had found. Giving two health potions and a stamina potion to Naruto and keeping the others for both herself and any other soldiers they came across that needed them.

When that had been done, they set off to the treasury. Hopefully it would only take two or three minutes, but that's only if they didn't run into any other enemy soldiers. Thankfully though the only soldiers they did see were already dead.

Having finally arrived at their destination, they were surprised to find that they hadn't been the only ones to have the idea of getting to the treasury. As they approached the open door they head the telltale sound of colliding metal, which could only be from hand to hand combat. Taking a brief glance, Naruto could see that the fighting was being done by two of the castles guards and five enemy soldiers.

"Who's in there Naruto?"

"There are two of the castle's guards fighting against some enemy soldiers. I can see five of them but I don't know if that's all of them."  
"Ok, you go ahead, and I'll cover you from the entrance." Eleanor said, once again drawing her bow.

"There appears to be an upturned table to the left of the door, my lady. It would be a perfect place for you, since it would give you some protection." Naruto replied drawing both his sword and his shield.

As soon as they were ready they burst into the room. One of the enemy soldiers were instantly killed by Eleanor as she went to the left and took shelter behind the table as Naruto had said.

While she was on her way to the table, Naruto had exploded into action, and already got close enough to fight on of the other four soldiers that were left.

The first soldier was killed within seconds. Since they hadn't been expecting anyone it had been easy for Naruto to catch him by surprise. However now the other ones knew they were there. But fortunately the number advantage was now in their favor. Naruto joined one of the guards in fighting one of the three remaining enemies. By the time Naruto had dispatched his new opponent, Eleanor had already killed the remaining two and moved to distribute the health potions to the guards.

After the two guards recovered they all began to move to the main gates. While the progress was slow, they did eventually get to there.

The brief peace that they had before was shattered when they entered the Entrance Hall. The remaining castle guards were being attacked by Howe's soldiers that had managed to get through the outer defenses.

As soon as they entered Naruto had to immediately duck as one of the guards were blasted overhead by a fire ball. Searching out for person who did this, he saw that Howe had somehow got a mage to join his forces. The only way that could be possible would be if he was an apostate. Thankfully Naruto knew how to deal with this. After all, this is the reason he had gained one on one training from the Templars. Leaving the other soldiers to the guards and Eleanor, Naruto immediately moved to intercept him. And even thou he had all the training to be able to fight mages one on one, he had never actually done it outside of training yet. So his nerves were understandable.

The mage was prepared for Naruto's initial attack. An energy barrier surrounded him and caused his strike to bounce off.

Strike after strike rained down onto the mage's shield, causing the shield to become weaker and weaker, much to the shock of the mage.

"How? Only a Templar should be able to do that." The mage shouted in frustration

"I might not be a Templar, but that doesn't mean I haven't been trained to fight against mages." Naruto replied confidently

"Even if you do have some Templar training, you won't survive long."

Ignoring the mage's bluff, Naruto began attacking him again. Coming up with quick plan Naruto once again went with an obvious overhead strike. Predictably the mage once again cast an arcane shield. He then casted a quick Cleanse area skill to destroy all magical constructs in the room, including the mage's shield. The mage could only look on defenseless as Naruto's strike struck, cutting from his shoulder to the opposite hip. Not watching as the mage drew his final breaths, Naruto searched for the next enemy. To his shock though, all the others were already dead; he refused to lower his guard even though there weren't any other enemies around. Taking his place next to Eleanor, Naruto waited while Eleanor looked for who was in charge.

"Your ladyship!" Came a shouted a man clearly out of breath "Ser Naruto! You're both alive! I was certain Howe's men had gotten through."

"We're fine Ser Gilmore, although some of Howe's men did get through. However we have to know if you know where the Teyrn is?" Naruto asked

"He was looking for both of you. When I realized what was happening it was all I could do to shut the gates. But they won't hold for much longer. If you have another way out of the castle, you have to use it quickly." Ser Gilmore said desperately.

"We're not going anywhere Ser Gilmore until I find my husband. Now do you know where he went?" Eleanor demanded.

"When I last saw the Teryn, he was badly injured. I urged him not to go but he was determined to find you. He was heading towards the Kitchen. Perhaps he meant to find you at the servants' exit in the larder."

"Thank you Ser Gilmore. Bless you." Eleanor said.

"Maker Bless us all, my lady." Ser Gilmore said moving back to the gate, resigning himself to his fate.

"You heard him. We have to get to the Kitchen." Eleanor said directly to Naruto.

The two of them moved through the gate room, to the opposite door. Opening it, they were back out in the outside halls. Moving at a stead jog they were getting closer and closer to their destination. However like everything today, it wasn't as easy as that.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a large object headed towards his head. Instinctively he leaned backwards, however his momentum meant that he slipped. From his position on the floor he had a brilliant view as an oversized two handed axe smashed into the wall right where his head would have been. Rolling immediately to his right, Naruto lashed out with his sword at the enemy. While he only managed to score a shallow cut, it bought Naruto enough time to get to his feet, only to be attacked by one of the other soldiers. Outnumbered five to two Naruto knew that this will be a hard fight. Especially since one of the soldiers appeared to be a Knight.

Positioning himself so he stood between the soldiers and Eleanor, Naruto began to swing somewhat wildly to keep them at a distance. Striking at the first soldier that came into range, Naruto quickly created an opening in his defense. An opening that Eleanor was glad to exploit with her arrows.

Moving quickly onto the next attacker, Nartuo was desperately trying to keep the enemy away from Eleanor. As good as she was with a sword, she was using a bow, something that needed distance to be able to be used to full effect. However as good as Naruto was he couldn't imagine how he would be able to keep them all back. While only outnumbered two to one, they were all attacking him head on to get to Eleanor.

Thankfully after a rather violent strike that rattled his entire body, Naruto had a brainwave.

'_What the hell am I doing? When I was in Konoha I was a one man army. And here I am worrying about being outnumbered two to one.' _Naruto thought frustrated with himself.

Using the basic Shield Bash to create some room, Naruto immediately used a handsign he hadn't used in what seemed to be years.

The popping that signaled the arrival of the 10 Kage Bunshin drew the attention of everyone from the enemy soldiers to Eleanor. Stepping back while the Bunshin attacked the now outnumbered enemy soldiers Naruto was faced by a shocked Eleanor.

"What kind of magic is this Naruto? I thought that you were incapable of magic?1" Eleanor said confused.

"No magic, my lady. It's a NinJutsu technique I learned in Konoha." Naruto said

"Why didn't you use it earlier?"

"To be perfectly honest with you my lady, I forgot about it." Naruto said sickened with himself. "I have only ever used Kage Bunshin in battles, so therefore I had no need use it until now. But I have been so used to using the skills that I learned here at Highever, that my previous skill set was pushed to the back of my mind."

"How many can you make Naruto?" Eleanor asked hopeful of being able to rescue the castle.

"I'm not sure. The constant exposure to Lyrium has somehow reduced my chakra stores. So I won't be able to make the thousands I had been capable of before."

"Don't worry about it Naruto, but please make as many as you can."

Concentrating as he called up a large amount of chakra, Naruto was able to make just over a hundred Kage Bunshin. They combined with the 10 previously summoned Kage Bunshin to make a grand total of 115 clones.

"I'm sorry my lady, but if I made any more I would probably suffer from exhaustion." Naruto said with a ragged voice

"There is nothing to apologize for, Naruto. With the help of your NinJutsu we just might be able to hold the castle." Eleanor said softly. Turning to address the gathered clones, she said "Now I want half of you to head to the gate. You will aid Ser Gilmore for as long as you are able. The rest of you will search the castle for any survivors."

"Yes my lady" the clones answered moving to fulfill their tasks.

"You Naruto will come with me while I look for my husband." Eleanor said as she once again started down the pathways. "How long will they be able to last?" She asked

"The clones? They will be able to survive until they receive a major wound. Then they'd simply disperse."

"Anything that they can do to help will be appreciated."

* * *

Finally making it to the kitchen Eleanor and Naruto were desperate to find Bryce. Practically destroying the kitchen in the search for her husband, Eleanor was quickly becoming more and more frantic when she couldn't find him.

While Eleanor was working herself into a frenzy, Naruto was trying to think of anything they could be missing. Hearing an almost silent groan, Naruto threw open the larder door and was shocked by what he saw. There lying on the floor in an ever expanding pool of blood was a pale Bryce.

"There you are." Bryce groaned.

Hearing his voice Eleanor ran into the larder, coming to a halt when she saw her husband's condition.

"Makers blood, what happened Bryce? You're bleeding." Eleanor said forcing herself not to cry.

"Howe's men found me while I was looking for you...They almost did me in right there." Bryce said with a small chuckle.

"We need to get you out of here my lord." Naruto said kneeling next to him

"I won't survive the standing, I think." Bryce said groaning in pain.

"Then I will stay and defend you my lord." Naruto said with determination clear in his voice.

"No Naruto." Bryce said with a sigh.

"Once Howe's men break through the gate they will find us. We must go." Eleanor said desperately trying to keep control of her warring emotions.

"Someone must reach Fergus...Tell him what's happened." Bryce said through clenched teeth.

"You can tell him yourself, My lord."

"I wish I could Naruto."

"Bryce no, the servants' passage is right here, we could flee together, find healing magic." Eleanor said clinging onto Bryce's hand.

"No my love, you must go quickly before Howe's men find you." Bryce said not wanting to see his wife die.

"The Teryn is right. Howe's men have not yet discovered this exit; however they surround the castle so it will not stay that way for long," said a deep voice from the doorway.

Jumping at the new voice, Naruto moved to stand between the blood soaked stranger standing in the doorway and the mortally wounded Teryn lying helpless in his wife's arms, his hand immediately on his sword.

"You are Duncan are you not? The Grey Warden." Eleanor said from her place beside her husband, when she saw him nod, she said, "It's alright Naruto. He won't harm anyone."

Lowering his hand from his sword, Naruto stood back allowing Duncan into the room. However, even Eleanor's word wasn't enough to get Naruto to lower his guard. Standing over the Teryn and Teryna Naruto knew he was in the perfect position to defend them at a moment's notice if he needed to.

The position also gave him a perfect perspective to take in Duncan's appearance. His silver armor had dulled from the constant exposure to the blood that stained it, but still held a magnificent shine. His legs were covered by a chain mail skirt, which also stopped him from knowing what he had on beneath it. The main things however that caught Naruto's attention was the two blades on his back. Both blades where made of a blood red steel, a basic straight blade easily made for blocking and thrusting. The biggest difference between the two blades however was the size. The left hand blade was short, only a foot in length. While the right hand blade was almost twice this size.

"I'm glad to see you are safe your ladyship. The Teryn and I tried to reach you sooner." Duncan said in a smooth voice.

"Naruto helped me get this far, praise the maker." Eleanor said.

"I am not surprised." Duncan said, looking Naruto in the eyes.

"Thank you for saving him Duncan." Naruto said after several tense seconds.

"I fear your thanks may be a bit premature." Duncan said breaking the eye contact.

"Whatever were going to do we must do it quickly." Eleanor said desperately trying to get some form of action happening.

"Duncan...You are under no obligation but I beg of you. Take my wife and son to safety." Bryce said through a mind numbing amount of pain.

"Son?" Naruto asked surprised as to what had been said. "Fergus has already left the castle my lord. He's safe."

"I know Fergus is safe. I meant you Naruto." Bryce said "Ever since you arrived here in Highever you reminded both me and my wife of our youngest son. He died a couple of years before your arrival. At first that is why we helped you so much. But over the years we stopped loving you for being our dead son's replacement and started loving you for you."

"I don't understand." Naruto said confused

"He's telling you the truth Naruto. We were going to talk to you after Bryce returned from Ostagar about officially adopting you into our family." Eleanor said

"You wanted to adopt me? Why?" Naruto asked not able to believe them fully.

"Like we've already said Naruto, we really do love you. That love might not of had the noblest of births, but it's real all the same. And of course Fergus loves you. He might not say it but to him you are his brother." Eleanor said

"As much as I hate to interrupt, but Howe's men will be here soon. But to answer your question Teryn Cousland, I will keep them safe. However what you have seen here pales in comparison to what is to come. I came here to search for a recruit and the Darkspawn threat demands I leave with one." Duncan said once again in his smooth voice.

"I...I understand" Bryce said resigned to what he knew was about to happen

"Are you talking about me?" Naruto asked finally coming out of his shock.

"I will take the Teryna and your new son to Ostagar; there we will tell the King what has happened. Afterwards Naruto will join the Grey Wardens."

"As long as Howe comes to justice, then I agree." Bryce said

"Then to you Naruto I offer a place within the Grey Wardens. Fight with us."

"I'm honored but I can't. My duty is to take vengeance on Arl Howe." Naruto said with single-minded determination.

"The King will see that Howe is suitably punished. I'm sorry but a Grey Warden's duty takes precedence, even over vengeance." Duncan said in a calm voice.

"Our family... always does our duty first. The Darkspawn must be defeated. You must go, for your own sake and Ferelden's." Bryce said through clenched teeth.

"I will...father, for you." Naruto said

"Then we must leave quickly if were to get past Howe's men." Duncan said making his way towards the passageway.

"Bryce, are you sure?" Eleanor asked.

"Our son will not die of Howe's treachery. He will live, and make his mark on the world."

"Darling, go with Duncan. You have a better chance to escape without me."

"Eleanor..." Bryce began but was interrupted by Eleanor

"Hush, Bryce. I'll kill every bastard that comes through that door to buy them time, but I won't abandon you."

"No, your ladyship...Mother, I won't let you sacrifice yourself." Naruto said distraught.

"My place is with your father, at his side, to death and beyond."

"I'm...so sorry it's come to this, my love." Bryce said.

"We had a good life, and did all we could. It's up to our children now."

"Then...go, Naruto. Warn your brother." Bryce said only to be interrupted by an earsplitting crash, "And know that we love you both. You do us proud."

"They've broken through the gates. We must go now." Duncan said in a desperately.

Running towards to the servants' passageway Naruto refused to look back, knowing that if he did he wouldn't have the strength to resist going back to help his new parents. Just as he entered the passageway he heard a faint voice saying "Goodbye, Darling."

* * *

**Right that's it. All of the unbeta'd work has been beta'd so now anything that is published will have been beta'd beforehand. **


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 7

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow

* * *

**Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.**

* * *

During the three, nearly four years that Naruto had been living at Highever, he had become used to the constant hustle that accompanied such a large settlement; however that didn't prepare him for the sheer number of people that were crammed into the tiny camp in the ruins of Ostagar. Truthfully though, he was thankful for this. The attack by Arl Howe, combined with the fact that he gained and lost a family within minutes, meant that what little control he had on his emotions was warring dangerously thin. So thin in fact, he was petrified that sooner or later, Kyuubi would find some way to take control. The sheer number of people present would give him plenty of distractions, which would hopefully take his mind off of this.

The approach of a group of people dragged Naruto out of his thoughts. The stunning golden armour that was worn by the man leading the group immediately drew Naruto's attention.

"Good Morrow Duncan." The blonde haired man said extending his hand to Duncan.

"Good Morning your highness. I wasn't expecting such a..." Duncan said shaking his hand.

"Such a what? Royal welcome?" He said with a chuckle. "And who's this?" He asked looking at Naruto.

"This, your highness, is Naruto Uzumaki. A knight from Highever. Naruto, this is King Cailan."

Upon hearing this Naruto did a hasty bow, drawing yet another chuckle from him.

"There's no need to be so formal young Knight. We're all brothers here. Although I'm confused as to why you didn't arrive with the others from Highever." Cailan asked confused.

"Then you haven't heard then, your Highness?" Duncan asked

"Heard what?"

"Highever was attacked. I fear that everyone has been lost." Duncan said with sadness resounding in his voice "Even the Teryn and Teryna."

"Attacked? By who?" Cailan asked in shock.

"It was Arl Howe your highness. He attacked when Highever's forces had marched here to Ostagar."

"Why would he do such a thing? Surely he must know that he won't get away with this treachery."

"I don't know your highness."

"As tragic as these events are we must turn our attention elsewhere." Cailan said

"What?" Naruto shouted in outrage "How can you allow Howe to get away with such a cowardly attack?"

"I know you must be devastated by the attack on your people Ser Naruto, but at the moment we have more important things to worry about." Cailan said with a sigh "I promise you this Ser Naruto that Arl Howe will not get away with this. However the defence of our people comes first. I cannot turn my army away from the Darkspawn threat and leave my people defenceless. However once the Darkspawn menace is defeated we will immediately deal with Howe's treachery."

"Yes, your highness." Naruto said with reluctance.

"Until then we must prepare for the oncoming battle. I will leave you to prepare your Wardens Duncan." Cailan said as he started walking back into the camp.

"You heard the King, Naruto, we must prepare. Please find a young warden named Alistair and bring him to my tent. You will know him because other than me he is the only one who bears the symbol of the Wardens."

"What then?"

"Then my friend, you and the others will be inducted into the Wardens."

"Others?" Naruto asked confused. However instead of answering him, Duncan simply let out a brief chuckle as he continued towards a tent that had a large fire outside.

* * *

Shaking his head at Duncan's dismissive behaviour, Naruto took another glance around the camp, trying to find a clue as to where to begin his search. Looking for a couple of moments, he simply couldn't find anything helpful, so simply heading down what appeared to be the more used path, and headed right. Constantly glancing around him, looking for the tell tale griffin emblem of the Wardens, Naruto wandered for what seemed like hours, yet was no where near finishing his task. Sighing as he prepared to start yet another circuit of the camp when he was interrupted by a comforting voice caught his attention.

"Do you need any help, young one?"

Turning towards the voice, Naruto saw a elderly women clad in red and green mage robe.

"Excuse me? Why would you think that I need any help?" Naruto asked frustrated at his lack of progress.

"Perhaps because I've watched you walk past me four times, and each time it appeared like you were searching for something. So please, tell me what your looking for and I will try to help as much as I possibly can."

"I've been tasked with finding a Grey Warden named Alistair."

"Alistair you say? Well then young one I do believe I will be able to help you."

"Really? You know where he is? That's fantastic." Naruto said relieved that his search was apparently over.

"Oh yes I know him. I will lead you to where he tends to spend his time, if you would follow me then."

* * *

The many times that Naruto had walked around the camp, he seemed to have completely missed the raised platform that was overlooking the camp. The gentle ramp that made it's way up to the platform was surrounded by crumbling marble pillars. The fire that was raging in the centre of the simple dirt floor was surrounded by several people. The majority of which were wearing the basic Mage robes, but one of them was wearing a well worn suit of scaled armour.

"There he is, young ser." Wynne said pointing at the man adorned in scale armour.

"Him? Are you sure?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yes. The Grey Warden that likes tormenting Mages. He's Alistair. And now if you'd excuse me, young ser, I have duties that I need to see to," Wynne said while making her way back down the ramp.

"Thank you." Naruto called to the retreating Wynne.

Turning back from the ramp, Naruto made his way towards the fire, as he made his way over he could hear the conversation, which was more like an argument than a conversation, between the now identifies Alistair and some random Mage.

"I do NOT answer to the Reverend Mother, Warden." The Mage said anger clearly ringing in his voice.

"Wooo there. There's no need to be so aggressive." Alistair said with a smirk "I'm just passing on a message, so don't blame me."

"Listen Warden. I know you think that since you're a Warden you can do what you want. But there will be a day where you will need to take responsibility and stop acting like a spoiled brat." The Mage said while stalking away from Alistair, with the rest of the Mages following in his wake.

"Somehow my friend, I seriously doubt it." Alistair said with a chuckle as he watched the Magi walk away. As he watched the Mages leave, Alistair finally saw that they weren't alone.

"Hello. I didn't see you there. I'm Alistair, and you are?" Alistair asked holding out his hand.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said shaking the extended hand. "I'm here because Duncan sent me to fetch you."

"Ah. You must be one of the new Wardens that Duncan found during his travels. Now come on, we might as well get this over with."

"Get what over with?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"You'll see." Alistair said with a chuckle.

* * *

The journey through the battle camp gave Naruto chance to actually attempt to create a mental map. The time he spent training in Highever taught Naruto that if he couldn't be where he was needed during a battle then he might as well not be on the battlefield.

The map would be able to help in the heat of battle. And in any battle it's better to be prepared than lacking something you would need later on. It would be a lot easier and quicker for Naruto to make his mental map, if he didn't have to follow Alistair, who was walking at a pace that was slightly below jogging. It seems Alistair really was in a hurry to get this over with.

When Alistair finally started to slow down, Naruto saw that he was approaching the tent that Duncan described to him earlier. It was unique because it was the only tent that had a fire blazing just feet away from it's entrance.

Gathered around the fire was three people. The first was Duncan. The second was a man who was slightly taller than Alistair and was built bigger than anyone else there. He had short, receding dark brown hair and a small patch of stubble that line his chin only. He was dressed in the standard scale armour that many around the camp where wearing. It was obvious that he wielded a two-handed great sword by the one that rested on his back.

Next to his stood another man, this one slightly smaller than the first, who wore a suit of hardened leather. He had duel short swords strapped to his back, and his body's frame showed that he used speed more than strength. An interesting contrast to the man that was standing next to him. Like the first man, he had dark brown hair and stubble but unlike the first man, his hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and his stubble covered his cheeks instead of his chin.

"There you are. I trust you weren't causing trouble, Alistair." Duncan said

"Me causing trouble? I'm hurt you would think so little of me." Alistair said with a chuckle.

"The reports I have been receiving for the past hour say that you are antagonizing the Magi. I know your past may have taught you otherwise but do try to get on with them. They are our allies after all, Alistair." Duncan said, turning away from Alistair before he could answer. "Naruto, I'd like to introduce you to your fellow recruits." Duncan said indicating the two other men.

"This is Ser Jory. Perhaps you have met, since he is a knight from Highever." Pointing to the man with the Great sword on his back.

"I doubt that, Duncan. I have been away for a great many days. So I haven't been able to meet any of the new Knights." Jory said, in a deep rumble.

"And this is Daveth." Duncan said, pointing to the man with twin swords.

"Pleasured." Daveth said cheekily.

"I'd like both of you to meet Naruto. A young knight fresh from his apprenticeship at Highever." Duncan said allowing them all to shake hands and introduce themselves. "Now we have important matters to discuss, before the battle begins tomorrow. In the Kocari Wilds just beyond the encampment, there is an old tower that contains all of the treaties between the Grey Wardens and the various peoples of Ferelden. Should the King and the army fail tomorrow, those treaties will be the only hope we have of stopping the Darkspawn. Therefore you all must head to the tower and collect them before anything should happen to them."

"How are we to find this tower?" Jory asked.

"Alistair knows its location. He will lead you. While you're out in the wild, as well reaching the tower, you will also need to gather several vials of blood from the Darkspawn."

"Darkspawn blood? What reason could we possibly have to gather that?" Daveth asked, with a hint of fear resounding in his voice.

"It is needed for your initiation into the Wardens ranks. Please don't ask for any more details. I give you my word that all will be explained later, but until then we need to focus on the task at hand."

"Right then, if you'd follow me." Alistair said heading towards the edge of the camp.

Once again the journey through the camp gave Naruto time to think. Something that Naruto needed since he still wasn't completely in control of his emotions. While they weren't the raging inferno they were after Arl Howe's betrayal, they had become smouldering embers that burned in the background eating away at his control, just waiting for an opportunity to destroy the control and reduce him to a mindless beast that thrives in pain and destruction.

Thankfully the training that he had received from the Templars allowed Naruto to control his chakra a lot better than he was able when he first arrived in Ferelden. However even with the new, higher level of control, it was still difficult to stop Kyuubi's chakra from polluting his own. And as soon as the Kyuubi's chakra succeeds in gaining a foothold in his own system, then Naruto doubts that he would ever be able to stop it.

The time where he used Kyuubi's chakra to fight Sasuke has caused too much damage already. So any more large scale usage would allow it to get around all the defence that he has been able to get in place. And unfortunately Howe's betrayal had pushed his control to the limit. However he couldn't afford for himself to lose control. Not now, not here. It would completely decimate the Ferelden army that had gathered to defend against the Darkspawn. And without the army, Ferelden would be defenceless for at least the 6 months that would be needed to rebuild any significant fighting force. And any army intended to fight a blight needs to be significant. The army gathered at Ostagar wasn't actually that large, but the defensive capabilities offered by the ruined fortress and the fact that the Arch Demon hadn't been sighted means that they have a fighting chance at actually keeping the Darkspawn at bay.

Feeling his control slipping, Naruto knew that actively thinking about Howe's betrayal was a very bad idea. In fact, he needed something to take his mind off of it and fast. Thankfully that distraction came in the form of a voice.

"You there. I need one of you to do me a favor." A man said that was standing in front of a group of cages. "I need one of you to put a muzzle on one of my Hounds."

"Why would you need to muzzle one of your hounds?" Naruto asked

"A couple of days ago one of the patrol parties were attacked by a group of Darkspawn. The patrol survived but unfortunately not all of them lived past that day. As you know Mabari are very loyal to their owners and the man who died was this one's owner. Without its owner to control it, it's simply too dangerous. I might even have to put it down, but that will have to wait until after the battle of course. Now are any of you willing to help me?"

Naruto glanced at the other members of his team, and straight away he could tell that none of them wanted to be the one to do it. So instead of allowing there to be a pointless debate, Naruto stepped forward.

"I'll do it." Naruto said already picking up the discarded muzzle that was on the floor.

"Right, I'm only going to open the cage slightly. I don't want to risk the possibility of it escaping." the Beast Master said.

Nodding Naruto stepped up so he was in the perfect position to enter the cage without there being to much of a gap created that the dog could get out of.

The door swung open with a metallic scraping noise, and Naruto immediately moved into the cage. The hound backed away from him, it's fangs bared and hackles raised. Moving further into the cage, Naruto was trying to make himself seem as nonthreatening as possible.

"Easy. No ones going to hurt you." Naruto said in a soft voice.

After a couple of tense minutes of inching forward Naruto was finally close enough to be able to put the muzzle on. However, Naruto also knew that this meant he was close enough for the hound to be able to attack him.

Slowly he moved his arm so he could rest it on the hound's head. The hound let out a almost silent whimper, but didn't do anything. Naruto took this as a good sign and and moved close enough that he didn't need to stretch to reach it. Slipping the muzzle over the hound's head, Naruto kept speaking softly so he didn't spook it.

"Thank you. I feel so much better now that its muzzle is on." the beast master said "I'm sorry of kept you. Where were you headed anyway?"

"Out into the wilds." Alistair said

"The Wilds? That's great."

"How so?" Alistair asked with suspicion.

"Like I said earlier this hound's owner was killed when his patrol was attacked, however the hound did its job and killed several Dakspawn. However during the battle the hound ingested some of the Darkspawns' blood. Unfortunately, Darkspawn blood acts like a poison to other living things. That's driving this hound to attack everyone. There is a cure for it. It's made from a plant found in Kocari wilds. But I can't leave the hounds unattended to retrieve it."

"This flower. What does it look like?" Naruto asked.

"It's a white flower, with a red core to it's petals. I only need one of them. Why do you ask?"

"Since were already heading out into the wilds, we might as well keep an eye out for one of these flowers."

"Really? That's great. I may not be able to offer you much but I can give you a reward if you do manage to find one." The beast master said.

"Right, as nice as this has been, we really must be going. We've got a lot to do and we don't have a great deal of time left to do it in." Alistair said.

Nodding, the others took step behind him as he made his way towards the outer edge of the camp.

After another couple of minutes of walking, they finally reached the gate that lead into the Wilds.

"Halt. State your business." The Guard asked in a formal tone.

"We're heading out into the Wild." Alistair said. "We have several things that need to be done before the upcoming battle."

"I see." The guard said "I've been instructed by the King to allow the Wardens to go about their business. So I'm not going to stop you."

* * *

**A.n. Yes I know that it's been a long, long time since my last update, but in my defence, i told you that there's no definite release schedule. **

**And just to answer a couple of the reviews I've been getting that have been saying that the story is practically identical to the Dragon Age: Origin storyline, well all I have to say is yes it is. But that is just at the moment. I had to introduce Naruto to Ferelden. Naruto had to be at Highever. Naruto had to become a Grey Warden. And Ostagar has to happen.**

**After Ostagar is when I will be diverting from the known storyline. because that's when I can divert the plot without altering any of the major events (like the landsmeet for example).**


End file.
